A Curious Case
by Renthead015
Summary: Jade is always getting on Tori's case.  When Tori decides to try something new will Jade help her.  I'm terrible at summaries. Rated T for Jori related goodness.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Victorious belongs entirely to Nickelodeon and the god they call Dan Schneider :)**

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><p>"Vega! Get away from him!" You would think Tori would know better than to get anywhere near Beck's body by now, yet there she was trying to help him recuperate after being knocked out cold.<p>

"Jade, I'm just trying to he-"

"He doesn't need your help, I can help him." I kneeled down beside Beck and shot a glare in Tori's direction. She backed away in surrender as I began to try and coax Beck into consciousness. It was her fault he was knocked out in the first place. If she hadn't distracted him while he was stage fighting then he would have been able to deflect the blow coming toward him like he was supposed to. Instead Andre's fist hit him directly in the jaw causing Beck to black out for a few minutes. Now, he was coming to.

"What happened?" he asked as if in a daze.

"Well your fight scene was interrupted by Vega over her-"

"I didn't-"

"Yes! You did! Anyway Sinjin went to get Lane, and your probably going to need to ice your jaw but you should be fine." Sinjin came back with Lane and an ice pack for Beck's jaw and they went back to Lane's office for the rest of the school day.

I waited for Beck by his locker after school. I was alone in the hallway until Tori came up to me. As annoying as I found her I was glad for some company but I didn't want _her_ to know that.

"What do _you_ want?"

"Why do you always do that?"

"What?"

"You always put the blame on me when something bad happens, or someone gets hurt…or…or whatever! I'm sick of it!"

"Don't get so touchy."

"Don't tell me not to get touchy when you make it seem like I'm prone to bad luck."

"Look, it's not like anyone really blames you. I just like to express my opinion on the matter."

"Then what is it that you have against me, Jade. I thought we were making progress. I thought we were friends, but for every one step forward we take two steps back in our 'friendship.' What's your deal?"

I stared at her for several seconds in an attempt to make her feel as uncomfortable as possible. She stared right back at me.

"Okay you know what, you're right. Yeah, I can see our friendship progressing but maybe I'm happy with the way things are. We have a dynamic: you are the friendly one and I always put you down. I'm not going to change the way I act just because of some stupid 'friendship.'"

"I never said you had to change your personality, I know that's who you are. All I'm saying is that you are less evil to everyone else. I've never seen you threaten Andre with a pair of scissors."

"That's because it is more fun to torture you."

"Why?"

At that exact moment I saw Beck walking down the hallway with Lane. His jaw had swelled up a little but he was as cool and collected as usual. "Hey babe, you didn't have to wait up. Lane's going to be taking me home."

"But what about your truck?"

"My mom and dad are going to come by later to pick it up. You can come with us if you want. I know you probably don't have a ride home."

"Well it is pretty late because I've been waiting a while…"

"Yeah, sorry about that babe."

"There's plenty of room for you if you want to come Tori," Lane offered.

Before Tori could say anything I answered, "That won't be necessary. She already has a ride. Don't you Tori?" I glared at her to get my point across.

She hesitated before finally answering with a sigh, "Yeah."

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><p><strong>I originally planned for this to be a one-shot but soon realized that I could make it less confusing if I made it longer than I originally intended. I am still in the writing process for the rest of this fic so if you have any suggestions feel free to let me know. <strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: You know I don't own Victorious. It says so in Chapter 1.**

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><p>"You know it wasn't her fault." When Lane finally dropped me off at my house I wasted no time in calling Beck. Yes, I was worried. Would I admit that to anyone? No.<p>

"I'm sorry, why are we bringing her up right now?" I always got annoyed when Beck felt the need to mention Tori when she wasn't around.

"Oh come on Jade, it's not like you just forgot about everything that happened today. And let's face it you blame Tori, so we need to talk about how it wasn't her fault."

"Then who's fault was it?"

"It was nobody's fault. If anyone is to blame it's myself for losing focus."

"You would never have lost your focus if it hadn't been for her. And why did she distract you anyway? It's not like she made some kind of grand entrance or something. Is there something you need to tell me Beck?"

"Are you accusing me of something Jade?"

"I'm just wondering why Vega seemed to grab your attention out of nowhere in a room full of many other people that could have distracted you."

"No one else burst into the room while tripping."

"So why are you always so concerned about her."

"I don't want one of my friends getting hurt."

"She let you get hurt."

"Not on purpose. And I'm sure she tried to help me."

I was really aggravated at this point. I knew that Beck was right, but I still couldn't stave off the jealousy. "Well since you two like to help each other so much maybe you should just be joined at the hip 24/7!"

"Are you serious right now?"

"Do I sound like I'm kidding?"

"You know what you're right! We should be joined at the hip, that way you can entertain all your bisexual fantasies and have me and a girl at the same time! Almost like dating siamese twins of each gender!"

I was shocked. I could not believe what he had said. I had confided in Beck when I noticed my attraction toward women. He was my boyfriend after all, but he was also my best friend. He helped me figure out that I was not a lesbian because I was still attracted to him as well, but when I figured out I was bisexual I felt really insecure about it. I didn't know how to deal with it. I knew I wasn't a different person but would people look at me differently. Hollywood Arts is a school full of different kinds of people and we are all accepting of each other but would they still accept me. It's not like everyone at HA was straight but I still struggled with this new side of me that I needed to explore. It surprised me that Beck would use my own insecurities and throw them in my face.

"Jade," he was calmer now, "I'm sorry I didn't mean that."

"I think it was pretty clear what you were doing."

"Yes, I was trying to get a rouse out of you but I don't want to hurt you."

"Well thanks for being so kind." I hung up the phone before he could answer because by now I was on the verge of tears. In that moment I felt weak, and I don't like feeling weak. Beck always knew how to push my buttons, but he also knew that I didn't like to show my weak side to anyone. He knew it was there though. He didn't call back because he knew I needed time to myself and that what he did was so hurtful.

There was only one time that I had showed weakness in front of anyone at HA and that was Tori. Beck and I had broken up and she was the only person I could think of that would let me cry and not make fun of me for it. She knew I owned a lot of scissors. I really appreciated how much she helped me, but I would never tell her that. She still hasn't told anyone about my weak moment, which means she also carries one of my secrets. I should really keep my feelings to myself.

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><p><em>"Why do you always do that? You always put the blame on me when something bad happens, or someone gets hurt…or…or whatever! I'm sick of it! You are less evil with everyone else. Why? What is it that you have against me Jade?"<em>

I jolted awake and nearly fell off my bed. I put my hand to my chest feeling my rapid heart beat as I struggle to even out my breathing. Why was I dreaming about Tori? I could still hear her question in fading in and out of my subconscious, _"What is it that you have against me Jade?"_

"Ugh! Shut up, Vega!" I pulled my pillow over my head to try and drown out the sound. It didn't do much since the voice was coming from inside my head. So instead I threw the pillow off the bed and pulled the covers off of my body. I got out of bed and walked to the bathroom sink to splash water on my face, maybe that would wake me up and the voice would go away. No such luck.

I looked up at my reflection in the mirror and stared at myself for a full minute trying to figure out what my mind was doing. "What do you want me to say Vega?" I posed the question to the dream Vega that was stuck in my head. "I don't know what to say. I don't have anything against you."

It was true I didn't have anything against Vega. Sure at first I was jealous about the way Beck looked at her and the fact that she kissed him during one of our acting exercises when she was still a newbie, but that jealousy dissipated. She still gets everyone's attention so easily, maybe that was it. She grabs everyone's attention because of the girl-next-door vibe she gives off. It helps that she is pretty hot as we….Woah! I did not want to go there. I needed to get some more sleep that's all. Insomnia can create a lot of unwanted thoughts.

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><p><strong>Thank you for the reviews and thank you to those of you that have added my story to your alerts. I will try to update as much as possible, but I cannot promise specific time periods because I am a full time student who also works part time so bear with me. <strong>

**Oh! And Happy Valentines Day!**

**XOXO**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: You know I don't own Victorious, right?**

Beck tried to call me a few times but I ignored my phone all weekend and steered clear of The Slap just in case he tried to send me a message. When I arrived at school on Monday he was waiting for me by my locker.

"Jade, are we going to talk about this?"

"Is there something we need to talk about?

"Yes."

"Really? I thought that you made your opinion of me very clear."

"Jade, I know what I said hurt you, but I said it out of anger. In the moment I just wanted a reaction out of you which was wrong. I should have handled the situation better."

I looked around to make sure no one was within earshot before I angrily whispered, "You know how I feel about these…feelings. You just threw my insecurities in my face. How do I know you won't do it again? How can I trust you with any of my secrets anymore?"

Beck took a moment to just look at me before answering, "Because I love you. You know that. In your heart you know that you can trust me more than anyone."

"I want to believe that, I do, but you proved to me what you can do in anger."

"I promise I will never use your insecurities to hurt you. I would never hurt you intentionally."

"What if you do?"

"If I do it again, you can publicly humiliate me in some way that doesn't involve breaking the law."

A sly grin slowly crept across my face, "Okay."

"I knew you would jump at that chance," Beck said while giving me his signature lopsided grin that could make any girl melt. I wondered if he knew his affect on women went beyond a simple attraction. "I have to go talk to Lane before I go to class so I'll see you there." After a quick kiss we parted ways.

I stored my backpack and books in my locker and made my way down the hall until I saw Tori Vega standing in front of her locker looking intently at her phone. I decided I should go say hi.

"Vega!"

She nearly dropped her phone at the sound of my voice. "Was that necessary? A simple hello using your 'inside voice' would have been just fine."

"But it would not have garnered the same reaction," I said with an evil smirk on my face.

"You're right. It's much better to startle an innocent, unsuspecting person while they are texting their mother trying to convince her that her daughter does not have problems with anxiety." When she finished rambling she took a deep breath.

"A little out of breath there?"

"Only a little."

"Need to calm down?"

"I'm just going to breathe and relax."

"A little anxious?"

"I do not have anxiety!"

"Okay. Jeez, don't bite my head off."

"I'm sorry. I jus- Wait. Why are you here?"

"Well see, my parents want me to get a proper education. In order to do that I have to attend scho-"

"That's not what I meant and you know that. Why are you here talking to me? I thought you were still mad about what happened last week."

"I had a whole weekend to get over it. Besides, Beck needed to talk to Lane so I figured I'd find someone else to entertain me while he's gone."

"Glad I could be your circus monkey."

"Oh please, I would never think so highly of you." She gaped at me in mock offense. "Besides, you just happened to be the first person I saw on my way to class."

"Well, don't let me hold you up anymore." Tori bowed and spread out her left arm as if she was showing me the way to class.

"Thank you." I began to walk away.

"Did you just say, 'Thank you,' to me?"

I turned around to retort when I realized that she was right. Why would that phrase slip past my lips without any type of sarcastic undertones. I stared for a few seconds before I turned back around and stormed off to class.

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><p>"Sikowitz is crazy!" I was outside at the Black Top Cafe sitting with Tori, Beck, and Cat. Andre was off writing a song for his songwriting class while trying to impress his latest girlfriend at the same time. Robbie was helping Sinjin work out some kinks in the stage lighting in the black box theater. Of course lunch time is the perfect time for me to rant about things that happen throughout the day.<p>

"Jade, calm down," Beck said. "It really isn't that bad."

Tori decided to butt in as well. "No it's not bad. It's horrible!"

"You're both overreacting."

I was heated now, "Overreacting? I am NOT overreacting! Vega and I can't work together on this skit!"

"Yeah! She hates me and we are constantly arguing. There is no way we can do a whole scene together and make it out alive!"

"Oh, I'd make it out alive. You, on the other hand-"

Beck cut me off in an attempt to keep the peace, "In order to be an actor you have to be able to work with different people. You may not like all of them, but you have to suck it up and get the job done."

"Oh I'm sure that is exactly what Sikowitz was thinking when he chose to 'randomly' pair me up with Vega. He isn't trying to annoy me at all."

"Sikowitz is always trying to unite everyone in his class so that we can help each other achieve our goals. It's only difficult when it comes down to you and Tori."

"Then maybe he shouldn't pair Vega and I together!"

"Yeah, why couldn't I work with Andre or even Robbie," Vega added.

"You can't work with Robbie I'm working with him." Up to this point I had forgotten Cat was there. The petite red head had been quiet during my entire rant and didn't seem to want to be part of the conversation. Until now.

"I just meant that I would rather work with anyone other than Jade."

"Oh excuse me for not having the honor to be in the presence of the high and mighty Queen Vega," I said in my favorite Vega impersonation.

"I don't talk like that!"

"In my head that's what you always sound like!"

"Oh yeah? Well in my head you sound like-"

"Would you both just cut it our already!" Beck must have been very annoyed at this point because he never shouted at anyone. "I'm sick of this ongoing battle between you two! Just stop!" He took a breath and began talking a little bit calmer. "You are going to have to work together either way, and you might have to work together many more times on future projects. So the both of you need to suck it up and just be civil."

Tori, Cat, and I stared at Beck in awe for a few seconds before I turned to Tori and said, "I'll be at your house at 7pm. Make sure you have snacks and plenty of lemonade." I got up and walked away from the group to collect my books for my next class.

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><p><strong>Is it possible? Could I have really finally put up the next chapter? Sorry it took so long but I started writing it a week ago but then got side tracked by homework. Next time I'll make sure this story gets priority. <strong>

**Thanks for the reviews by the way, I really appreciate them. :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious, trust me.**

When I arrived at the Vega household it was about 7:15pm; since I didn't have my own car yet I was using my parents. I checked my reflection in the sun visor/mirror before I realized what I was doing. _It's just Vega,_ I thought to myself, _why am I so concerned about how I look._

Before I could think about it any longer I got out of the car and walked up to the front door. I didn't even need to knock before Vega opened the door. She must have been watching me pull up. She was wearing the same clothes as she had had on at school earlier but for some reason my eyes decided to roam over her body…I mean her outfit.

"You're 15 minutes late." She pulled me out of my thoughts.

"I forgot to mention the time change."

"You needed an extra 15- You know what, never mind."

"Let's jut get started." I walked over to the couch and sat down near the lap top that was perched on the coffee table. "What does the assignment say?"

"Let's see," she started as she looked through a folder next to the lap top. "We have to create a five minute skit about something that people will celebrate for."

"Why?"

"I don't know. Sikowitz is just testing to see what we can come up with that's not boring or ordinary."

"So we won't use any of your ideas."

"Please keep the snide remarks to a minimum so that we can get through this. It's got to be five minutes long so it should be something where we get the news and then plan a celebration."

"We can't just get the news, there has to be some character development even though it is really short."

"Ok…Then we'll start the scene during a conversation so that people know how our characters' relationship. Then one of us spring the news and we get excited about it or something. What should the news be?"

For some reason the first thought that came into my head was something so cheerful that I couldn't believe it popped into my mind. Before I could stop myself I blurted it out, "A pregnant wife."

"That's…odd…but it's original. I'm sure no one else has thought of it."

"That's because not everyone celebrates when they find out someone has a 'bun in the oven.'"

"Do you want to do it or not?"

"I don't see you coming up with anything better, so why not?"

"Fine."

"Fine."

Vega typed the idea for the scene on her laptop and then looked up. "I have to make a character list so we have a pregnant woman and…?"

"Her husband, duh!"

"Ok, gosh. I wasn't sure if you wanted that since we would have to be a couple and all."

For some reason this idea did not make me cringe or snap at Vega. Maybe I was spending too much time around her. I couldn't possibly be starting to like her. I merely found her tolerable. In my thought process I missed what she had said to me. "Come again?"

"I said, I assume you want me to be the husband in this case."

"Vega, Vega, Vega. When you assume you make an ass out of you and me. You will be the pregnant wife."

"Why?"

_Why _indeed. Why would I want Vega to be the wife. Did I have a reason? My brain just told me to be the husband. "Because I don't want to wear a prosthetic," I said in an attempt to save myself.

"You won't have to if we are just finding out about the pregnancy."

"But if we make it so you actually have the baby instead it will be much more original and you _will_ need a prosthetic." Where did that come from? Why was I making this assignment mored difficult than it had to be. Did I want Tori to be the wife so bad I had to make up reasons for why it would be a good idea?

"I guess your right, but that's going to need a lot more work."

"Fine we'll stick with our original idea to make life easier for you."

"Don't get mad at me, you're the one turning a five minute skit into a short film."

I really didn't know what had come over me. I was fighting with her to defend myself when I didn't need to be defended. "Look, your the pregnant wife and I'm the wonderful husband. Let's just start writing the skit so I can get out of here."

"Fine. How should we start?"

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><p>Tori and I had been working on the skit for two hours because we wanted to get the script done by tonight. We wanted to work on our props tomorrow so we needed to have the script finished by then. We were only allowed to have three prop ideas and they had to have a significant purpose in the skit. We decided that Tori would be knitting baby socks so the needle an thread was one idea. Then I would need facial hair to signify I was a man. The third prop idea we weren't quite sure of yet.<p>

We were trying to figure out how to end the skit now. "After you figure it out you can scream, 'We're having a baby?' Then I'll scream, 'Yes!'" Tori was really enthusiastic about this project but I just didn't see the point.

"How do we celebrate?"

"I don't know we could start talking about inviting people to a party. Maybe we could use a phone as our third prop and you could pick it up and call someone to tell them."

"That's stupid. We should celebrate by ourselves before we tell everyone else. Why don' t we just pop open a bottle of champagne or something?"

"Well since I'm supposed to be pregnant that wouldn't be realistic. You can't drink when you're pregnant."

"We can be a couple of alcoholics."

"That…makes absolutely no sense."

"It's better than calling people to tell them the good news. We should _be_ celebrating instead of _planning_ on celebrating."

"Well we have to celebrate without alcohol. It has to be a way that shows our love because that's what a baby is supposed to be a symbol of."

"What do you want me to do? Run up and kiss you in happiness." After I said it I couldn't take it back. I didn't want to take it back because for some reason the idea of kissing Tori didn't disgust me. My heart actually beat faster at the idea. I notice that she had become silent as well. I couldn't leave this in the air between us. I had obviously shocked her with the idea even if it was just a reaction to her frustrating idea. I wanted her to say something but it seemed like I was going to have to defuse the situation. "I was just… I wasn't serious."

"No, I know. Although…"

My heart stopped. "Although…"

"That would be the reaction that is most realistic to that kind of news. No one would expect it at all coming from us."

"Are you actually considering it?" I held my breath.

"Well, I'm not completely dismissing the idea. Unless you're completely against it of course." She rushed the last part in an attempt to save herself from any rejection.

"No, I agree with you. It's expected, yet unexpected." I watched her for a reaction before saying, "I think we should go for it." I did my best to look uninterested but it was hard considering the rush of emotions clouding my mind at this idea. Through it all I could feel the excitement as it curled in my stomach.

When she finally spoke it broke into my thoughts but was still so quiet, "Should we try it?"

"What?"

"Should we try it…you know…now?"

I couldn't believe what I had just heard. I wanted to say, '_Yes! Let's do it right now!_' but I couldn't keep the question from escaping me. "Why?" Since she didn't completely distance herself I knew that I didn't totally screw this up, but I was still kicking myself mentally.

"Well…I've had plenty of stage kisses. I've just…never…kissed a girl before."

"On-stage?" Why couldn't I just shut up?

"Ever."

"Are you…curious?" That question would be fine because I really wanted to know. Was the perfect Tori Vega bi-curious? My heart sped up even more. Maybe I was having a heart attack. No. I just really needed her answer.

"Well…," before she could finish something snapped. It's like she came out of a dream or nightmare and she looked at me with a guarded expression on her face. "Why am I even talking to you about this? You're probably just going to use this against me by posting it all over TheSlap or something.

My heart sank. "No. Tori, listen-"

"I'm not going to listen to you. You made it pretty clear that you like fighting with me better than being my friend why would I trust you with my dignity."

"Tori, don't make this something it isn't." I knew I was begging now and she could use that against me, but for some reason I didn't care.

She looked at me with a confused expression on her face. "What did you just say?"

Now, I was confused. "I said, 'Tori don't-'"

"You never call me Tori!"

"I'm sorry?"

"Why are you suddenly calling me Tori and not Vega or whatever?"

"Well, that is your name isn't it?" And there was the sarcasm. Good ole' sarcasm.

"Of course that's my name! But I wasn't even aware that you knew my name."

"Are you serious? You're yelling at me for using your first name?"

"No. That's stupid. I just want to know why you suddenly decided to call me by my first name?"

I was somewhat frustrated with the turn this whole conversation had taken, but I realized that I wanted to get us back to that moment. In that moment I realized that right now more than anything I wanted to kiss Tori Vega. And that scare the hell out of me, but as scary as it was I wanted to do it. Now was my chance to get her to open up to me. "Tori look, we were just sharing a private moment. I think that we can be civil with each other after that. You may not think so but you can actually trust me."

"Trust _you_? Why should I trust _you_?"

Now was my chance. "Tori, I'm bisexual."

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><p><strong>AN: Oooooooh, a cliffhanger. I have to say even while writing this I yelled at myself, but I knew that this was the best way to end the chapter. Tori and Jade's relationship has taken a sharp turn, but will this new revelation change anything? Find out next time in "A Curious Case." **

**Next week I'll be on SPRING BREAK! So...hopefully I can write a couple more chapters for this story. I will definitely have homework too but this story is a priority! Who cares about grades and whatnot? Is anyone even still reading? Whatever, I'll stop rambling now. Thanks for the reviews and alerts it helps to know that someone is actually reading this story and enjoying it. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious, but you knew that already.**

Tori looked at me for a long time with utter shock written all over her face. I couldn't believe I just blurted it out like that, but relief washed over me after I said it. It's as if I wanted her to know.

I couldn't stand the silence anymore, "Don't just stand there. Say something."

She opened and closed her mouth before saying, "I just…I don't know what to say."

"Oh for once the queen of talking has been rendered speechless."

"Well, what do you want me to say Jade? For all I know this is just a ploy in order to get me to admit to something that I don't want to admit to."

"So you admit that you _are_ hiding something."

"I'm not admitting to anything."

"Come on, Tori. You were definitely about to tell me something personal and now you're just scared to admit to it."

"I'm not scared of anything."

"Yes you are. I just told you my deepest secret and instead of saying something about it you're calling me a liar."

"I'm not calling you a liar."

"Well, you could have fooled me."

We stood in silence for a couple of seconds before Tori looked at me and asked, "So are you really-"

"Yes! I'm bi okay. Are you happy?"

"Why would I-"

"I don't know Tori. Look let's just figure out an ending to this stupid thing and I'll be on my way."

"Ok."

We turned back to the laptop and Tori began to write our final lines in. She stopped at the last line before our "celebratory ending" which we had yet to figure out. She mumbled something that was impossible for anyone to hear.

"What?"

"I said, I think we should do the kiss."

"What?"

"I said-"

"No I heard you that time, what I meant was why?"

"Like you said, it's what is expected but they won't expect it."

"And knowing what you know about me doesn't change your decision."

"Jade, it's not like you just confessed your undying love for me. I'm okay with you being bisexual."

"Okay…so we're just going to kiss?"

"More dramatic than that of course. I'll jump into your embrace and kiss you. That should end the scene."

"Okay then, write it down."

She turned to type it out then said, "Done." She saved the script and turned off her computer as I started to pack my things.

I got up to walk to the door. "So I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Yeah."

I wanted to wait. I wanted her to say something, anything to give me a clue to what she was thinking after my revelation. Are we in some kind of awkward friendship now that she knows my secret? Do I have to act differently around her now that she does know? Will she tell anyone? Before that last question could pop into my head I knew the answer was no. Tori, would never tell anyone and knowing that made something shift inside of me.

I turned toward the door and was about to leave when she reached for my arm, "Wait!"

I turned back toward her, she was standing now. "What?"

She looked very unsure of herself, and indecision passed through her eyes. It seemed as if she was fighting an inner battle against her thoughts but she came to a final decision. "There is something I need to tell you, or ask you."

"What is it?" I tried to keep the hope out of my voice.

"For awhile I've been having these feelings…"

"Feelings?"

"Yes. It's about someone who I would never have expected, mainly because the someone is a 'she'."

I wanted to ask who this 'she' was. I decided instantly that I hated her. _Woah, where did that come from?_ "Oh?"

"Yeah, and I want…your help."

"My help? What do you want _me_ to do?"

"Well, since I'm having these feelings for the first time. I don't know what they mean."

"They obviously mean that you like this chick, whoever she is." I did my best to keep the irritation out of my voice.

"Yes, but does that mean I like girls in general or is it just admiration?"

"I can't tell you that. How am I supposed to help you figure that out?"

"Well, I was wondering what would happen if I were to kiss someone. You know, it might help me figure it out."

"So, you want to kiss a girl."

"Yes."

"Like we'll be doing in the play?"

"Well, no. That's acting. This will be more of a…test of my feelings."

I tried to calm my heart from the excitement. "So, what is it you want me to do exactly?" I didn't want to assume anything. I wanted to hear her say the words that I hoped she was trying to say.

"I need your assistance to test those feelings."

"How?"

"Jade, you know how."

"No, I don't. Not unless you tell me exactly what it is that you want me to do."

"Jade…"

"Tori…"

"Fine! I want you to…I want you to kiss me okay! There I said it!"

"Do you want me to do this now?" I decided I should tease her a little bit.

"Ugh! You know what forget I asked."

"No! I'll do it." I didn't want her to change her mind but I could hear that fear in my voice. I hoped she couldn't detect it.

"Not if you're going to tease me about it."

"I promise I won't."

"How do I know-"

"I won't." My serious tone had to have given away how much I wanted to do this, but if it did she wasn't letting on if she'd noticed.

"Okay." She sounded so fragile. "Should I start or…"

I decided to pull her closer to my body and I whispered, "Allow me." I gently brushed my lips over hers in an attempt to control myself. The second our lips touched however, something inside of me exploded and I became a ravenous animal starving for something that only she could provide.

She was a little hesitant at first but when she wrapped her arms around my neck I knew that she wanted it just as much as I did. I pulled her closer and nipped at her lower lip before running my tongue along the seam of her lips in an attempt to gain access into the depths of her mouth. Access granted. She opened her mouth allowing my tongue to swoop in and tangle with hers in a battle of the wills.

My control had already slipped but I became a madwoman when I heard her moan and shift against me so that one of her legs was pressing me closer to her. I moaned in response and began to back her up toward the couch when a loud sound broke the haze of desire that had come over us. We broke apart when we realized it was the door, someone was knocking on the door.

Tori took a step back in an attempt to collect herself, but she her breaths were still ragged and her lips were swollen from my kisses. I could only assume that I looked about the same. Another knock sounded at the door, this time accompanied with a voice, "Tori, it's Andre. I got a problem."

"He's gonna have an even bigger problem in a minute." I mumbled to myself.

"Coming!" she shouted to the door, then she looked back at me. "I…uh…Thanks Jade. For helping me, but I have to deal with this so I'll see you at school. Tomorrow?"

I felt like I had just taken a blow to the stomach. Had she not been as affected as I had? Did she feel nothing after that kiss? Had I imagined all the responses? I looked at her confused before I became angry. "Fine." I grabbed my things and turned to leave.

"Jade…"

"Save it Tori." With that I wrenched the door open and pushed passed Andre who looked a little surprised to see me there as if he didn't see my car parked on the street.

As I walked down the driveway I heard Andre say, "Sorry to interrupt but I got lady troubles." Then the door was shut and my emotions shut down along with it.

**A/N: Thanks for all of the alerts, favorites, and reviews. My email has been blowing up my phone with all of these and it made me feel awesome. I'm really enjoying writing this story and I appreciate all of the attention it's getting. **

**I hope to have the next chapter up by the end of the week. How will Jade and Tori act around each other at school? Does Jade have feelings for Tori? Does Tori have feelings for Jade? And who the heck was Tori talking about having a crush on? All this and more will be revealed soon. **

**P.S. What was Andre thinking interrupting our Jori goodness? Haha ;)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Do I even need to put this here at this point? I don't own Victorious.**

The next day at school I found Beck waiting for me by my locker. He was sitting on the floor in front of it and got up as I approached. "So, how are you and Tori getting along?"

I should have known he would bring her up. Why did it have to be now? I was still confused over what had happened last night and hearing her name only sent me into a series of flashbacks.

_Hands groping._

_Tongues dueling._

_Ragged breathing._

"Jade?" Beck brought me back out of my own subconscious. Now to add to the confusion and anger, I felt extremely guilty.

"What?"

"I asked how you and Tori are getting along, then you got this dazed look on your face."

"Oh. Sorry, I didn't get much sleep last night."

"Did you guys work on your assignment?"

"Yes, we did and we finished it."

"We just need to rehearse and pick out our props."

"So you guys are going to meet up again tonight?"

"Tonight?" _Tonight?_ There was no way I could see Tori again so soon. We did have to work on our assignment though, but we could get that done in class. _Class._ I am doomed to see this girl today no matter what. It looked like I had no choice but to confront my problems head on. Or act like nothing happened. "Yeah, we'll be working on it again tonight."

"That's too bad. I wanted to take you to see a movie. It's a documentary about the makings of a horror film."

"Sorry, maybe another time."

"Yeah. Well, we better get to class."

"Yeah."

/

Sikowitz's class was as interesting as usual. He had Beck and Andre do an improv scene while the rest of the class watched and took mental notes. I usually don't need to concentrate in this class; concentration is stupid. Today however, I felt the need to pay attention to everything going on, on stage.

I was trying my damnedest not to look at her. I didn't want to give away anything I may or may not be feeling so I focused on the stage. It was very hard to focus when I could feel her eyes glance in my direction every couple of minutes. Why was she looking at me? Why couldn't she just let me concentrate.

"Jade? Why don't you and Tori join Andre and Beck onstage." I could kill Sikowitz. If I had a coconut I'd aim it right at his face. That is, if I didn't want to graduate.

"Why? They seem to be doing just fine."

"Yes, but in order to make sure you understand I want you to go up there as well."

"Why does it have to be two of us? Can't you just take Tori?" Feeling her name roll off of my tongue erupted a tingling in the pit of my stomach.

"I don't see the problem Jade. You two are supposed to be working together on a skit anyway. This is a great way to practice." _Practice._ It was as if that word was a trigger for unwanted memories to come flooding back to me. Unwanted and erotic memories. I couldn't keep my eyes from traveling in Tori's direction but I wished I hadn't. What I saw in her eyes was the same recognition that must have shone in mine. All because of one word.

She looked away first and got up to make her way to the stage. I hesitated a second before following after her. "Okay you two, insert yourselves into Beck and Andre's scene now," Sikowitz ordered before crouching into a sitting position on the floor.

"Well where did you guys leave off?"

"Weren't you paying attention Jade?"

"Of course I was, I just forgot the last thing that happened."

Beck answered, "Andre just fell off his bike so I called his mom."

"I guess I'll be the mom," Tori chimed in.

"Then what am I doing here?" I was annoyed at this point.

"Why don't you be a paramedic or neighbor or something," Andre suggested.

"Fine."

"Enough discussion!" Sikowitz interrupted us. "Action!"

(SCENE)

ANDRE: Ow!

TORI: Oh my gosh sweetie! What happened?

BECK: We were trying to do tricks on our bikes and he fell.

TORI: What did I tell you about doing dangerous tricks?

ANDRE: You said they're dangerous and not to do them.

TORI: Well, I called the paramedics so they should be here-

JADE: Where's the emergency?

TORI: Well my son fell-

JADE: Did you fall off your bike? That could be serious. Let me make sure you didn't break anything.

TORI: Oh please don't have anything broken.

ANDRE: My leg hurts.

JADE: (Touching Andre's leg) Yeah it might be broken. But we'll need to take X-rays at the hospital.

TORI: We have to go to the hospital?

JADE: Help me get him into the ambulance.

BECK: Okay, I'll help y-

"Why are you ignoring me?" Tori broke character and spoke angrily.

"You broke character," I said annoyed.

"You are acting like I'm not even in this scene."

Beck attempted to to defuse the situation, "Girls, don't-"

"Oh my gosh, you are so selfish. Every scene does not have to focus on you."

"I'm not trying to focus on me."

"Oh really."

"Yes really."

"Ladies!" Sikowitz interrupted are fight. "The two of you can take this argument to Lane's office."

"But Sikowitz-" Tori started.

"No! We're fine." I interrupted.

"Stop interrupting me!"

"Stop being an-"

"Lane's office! Now!" Sikowitz said while holding the classroom door open.

I looked at Tori with annoyance before grabbing my backpack and storming out the door. I heard the door close lightly behind me and knew that Tori was following behind me.

"This is your fault."

"Vega! Put a sock in it!"

"Oh. We're back to last names now?"

"Yeah, you made sure of that."

"What are you talking about?"

"Let's just no talk ok. We'll go to Lane's office, sit, and get this over with."

"Whatever."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So technically its the weekend but I worked really hard to get this out as soon as possible. It's a little shorter than I wanted it to be though. **

**I wrote out the scene in the middle of this chapter in a sort of script format to make it easier to figure out who is speaking without using a lot of**_** (character name) said**_** because that just gets tedious. I figured if Jade and Tori were going to argue, they wouldn't mention the night before in front of Beck and everyone else. **

**I know there are still a lot of unanswered questions but this story won't be ending anytime soon so I will get there eventually. The next chapter will be about what happens in Lane's office so…yeah. Until next time...**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious or its characters.**

Lane's office was completely silent as he waited for Tori and I to explain what was going on. I didn't even want to be there and I would have just hid in the bathroom if Tori hadn't grabbed my arm while I was passing his office. I should have run while I had the chance. I stared at a poster on the wall while Tori kept checking her fingernails.

"We could sit here all day in silence or you two can tell me why you're being so hostile." Lane's calming voice turned my attention back to him but I didn't say a word.

It was Tori who finally spoke, "Look Jade, I don't want to sit here all day. Let's just say what we need to say so we can get out of here."

"Great. Now we're getting somewhere," Lane said with a satisfied look on his face.

"If this is about-"

"Don't!" I didn't want to air out any secrets in front of Lane, even if we were supposed to trust him with confidentiality.

"We can't just ignore it."

The door to the office burst open as Sinjin appeared in a panic, "Lane, that new kid is yelling all kinds of nonsense down the hall! Nonsense I tell you!"

Lane looked annoyed, "Sinjin, can-"

"It's an emergency!" With that Sinjin ran down the hall screaming.

Lane sighed heavily, "You girls are going to have to excuse me while I deal with this." He started to walk out the door but before he exited he turned and said, "Please behave while I'm gone. Don't kill each other."

As soon as he was gone Tori turned to me and said, "We have to talk about last night."

"There's nothing to talk about. We were practicing for our skit."

"That was not a practice kiss."

"That's right if I remember correctly I was trying to help you figure out if you had feelings for some chick. Now that I think about it, how was I supposed to help you figure that out if you were kissing me and not her?"

"You were helping me figure out if I had feelings toward girls in general, but that's not what I want to talk about."

"What do you want to talk about then? The skit itself."

"You know if you hate me so much why'd you help me in the first place?"

"I told you I don't hate you."

"Well, then what's your problem because you sure didn't seem to have a problem with me last night."

That comment hit a sore spot. I whirled on her with a fire burning inside me. "Of course you would think that since you were so busy moaning in pleasure to be aware of anything else that was going on."

A slight blush crept to her cheeks. She started fidgeting with her hands before looking at me again. "Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?" Anger was still very apparent in my voice.

"You're treating me like I'm such a vile person. Like you can't even believe you kissed me."

"Well maybe I can't." I saw hurt flash in her eyes and instantly wanted to take back my words. "I mean, I can't believe it happened. It feels like something so unreal." I was a little calmer now noticing how vulnerable she seemed, the same vulnerability I saw in her the night before when she confided in me. This girl could really hit my weak spots.

"Do you regret it?"

I thought about this for a moment. I knew in my heart that I didn't regret it, but how could I say that without seeming like I wanted it? How could I tell her that without letting her know that I couldn't stop thinking about the softness of her lips or the taste of her tongue.

Before I could say anything she said, "It's just that…before Andre knocked on the door it felt like…"

"Like we weren't going to stop." Something inside of me burst knowing the kiss affected her as much as it had affected me. I didn't plan on admitting to it but something in her eyes made me confess.

She looked me in the eyes and in that moment I could feel a pull coming from her. She leaned towards me and I leaned to meet her. I closed my eyes anticipating what was to come next. It never came. The ringtone for "Make it Shine" cut into our moment and made us jump apart.

Tori looked at me apologetically as she answered her phone, "Hello?…Hey Andre…." I rolled my eyes at this. That boy was going to be the death of me. "We're still in Lane's office…Yeah he said he'd be right back though…ok…yeah…bye."

"What did he want?"

"Class is over and since he didn't see me by my locker he was wondering where I was."

"You're missing for fifteen minutes and he's worried about you?"

"Well, after the way we left the classroom-"

Lane rushed back into his office, "Sorry ladies. That new kid has been causing so many problems. He's going to have to come meet with me later. Now, where were we?"

"Well, you wanted us to talk about whatever it was that caused so much tension between us," I started.

Tori took the reins from there, "So while you were gone we discussed some things."

He looked surprised, "And?"

"And," I continued, "we were figuring out some personal issues."

"Did you come to a truce?"

I looked at Tori at the same time she looked at me. We both knew that we had unfinished business that we needed to work out on our own. We also knew Lane would never let us go without a satisfying answer.

Tori broke eye contact first. "We agreed to try harder to be pleasant with each other even if we don't always see eye to eye."

"Excellent." Lane looked extremely relieved to since he wouldn't have to deal with our issue. Some guidance counselor. "I'm very proud of you girls."

"Yeah, yeah. Can we go now?" I was getting really impatient.

"Yes you may."

I grabbed my book bag and got up to walk out. I could hear Tori getting up and walking a step behind me. When we got out into the hallway it was deserted. All of our friends would be out at lunch right now. We started walking in silence.

Tori was the first one to break the silence, "Are you hungry?"

"Not particularly."

"Yeah, me neither."

I didn't want to fall back into silence. I needed to know why Tori and I kept getting into these intimate situations. My mind was a mess trying to figure out why I wanted her so much. There was no denying it now, I wanted Tori and she obviously didn't mind kissing me. But why? We were always at odds with each other, and suddenly these feelings burst seemingly out of nowhere.

I stopped walking. "Are we just not going to talk about this?"

She sighed, "I hoped we could clear our heads first."

"Why not just talk about it while it's fresh in our minds?"

"I just don't want to do anything stupid."

"Like what? Kiss me? Or fight with me?"

"Let's not start that. I think it's obvious what we get into when we're alone together."

"Yeah, and I want to know why?"

"Isn't it obvious, that kiss was a little more intimate than we planned for it to be."

"We didn't plan anything."

"Of course not. Anyway, this thing," she gestured to each of us, "between us needs to stop."

"You don't want to explore it more," as I said this I inched closer to her causing her to back up against the wall behind her.

"Jade, stop."

"Stop what?" I inched even closer until I was a breath away from her.

"You have a boyfriend!" That stopped me. "And he happens to be one of my best friends, so if we continue this _thing_ we'll only be hurting him."

I backed away from her. "Thankfully one of us is thinking." I turned and started to walk away.

"Jade…"

I stopped but didn't look back at her. "We have nothing more to say here Vega."

"Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"You're closing yourself off to me again."

"It's just who I am." I kept walking but stopped before I turned the corner. "Oh yeah. I'll see you later at your house so we can practice our skit and get our props ready. We need to practice our stage kiss because I don't think Sikowitz will appreciate anything over a PG rating." With that I walked the rest of the way to the Asphalt Cafe, leaving her with something to think about.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Thank you again for all of the alerts and favorites on this story guys. I couldn't be more grateful for the amount of attention this fic gets. All the people who have reviewed, I really appreciate it. It helps me to know that you guys are enjoying to story and it also helps me to know what you guys like about the story so I can model the rest of the story in a way that you can enjoy. Thank you so much.**

**This chapter was kind of hard to write. I only kind of knew what I wanted to happen and I really just let everything else pour out of me at like 1:00a.m. I didn't post it right away though because I was so tired from school and work. Then, I looked at the chapter again and decided I didn't like the way it ended. I deleted about a page and rewrote the entire ending so I hope you like it. It's longer than the original chapter so that's always a good thing. Right? Thanks again for making me feel so good about this story, it really has made me consider writing more.**

**Okay! That's enough writing. If anyone is still reading this…why are you still reading this? It's not interesting at all. Okay, I'm shutting up now. Bye.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything on television, including Victorious and its characters.**

The Asphalt Cafè was filled with the usual hustle and bustle crowd of students. When I walked in lunch was well underway so I joined Beck and the rest of our little group at our usual spot. After the way I had just spoken to Tori I didn't expect her to show up for lunch. I had already prepared an explanation to put everyone's mind at ease so they wouldn't think I murdered her or something.

Beck was the first person to ask, "Hey babe, where's Tori?"

"Well, I didn't hurt her if that's what your asking. And why do you care where she is anyway? If you're so concerned about Tori why don't you go find her?" Usually I did get jealous when Beck asked about Tori because I never knew if there might be a chance that he could stray away from me. In this case however, the jealousy was more about my feelings toward the girl. My _feelings_? Where had that come from?

"I'm right here guys, no need to send a search party." I turned to see Tori approaching our table. It surprised me of course, and she probably saw that because I saw a hint of an evil smirk play across her soft features. I may have imagined it because it was gone a second later but I was sure it had been there.

"We were wondering if you guys were going to be able to eat," Andre said a little concerned. "Are you guys cool now? Did you kiss and make up?" He immediately laughed at his obvious joke. I heard Tori's intake of breath at the question and glanced at her catching her gaze as everyone else joined in the laughter. I chuckled uncomfortably while Tori barely smiled.

"We talked it over and figured out some things we may need to work on to get along," I said as an answer to his initial question.

"And none of that involves any type of violence?" Beck asked cheekily.

I just glared at him but Tori decided to answer Beck's question, "You know Jade is perfectly capable of being around me without wanting to cause me bodily harm." The scene from the night before flashed in my mind. I might not cause bodily harm but that doesn't mean I won't get close to her body.

"Yeah, I'll believe that when I see it," Rex piped in from his perch on Robbie's hand. My hand reflexively went out to smack him but stopped, Tori had beat me to it.

"Hey," whined Robbie, "he didn't do anything to you."

"He was being annoying," she answered. I was stunned. This girl was not the goody-two-shoes Tori Vega that sometimes annoyed the hell out of me. This girl was Tori Vega reinvented, who could give as good as she got. She was tough and unpredictable, and I couldn't take my eyes off of her as she got up to walk away. "I'll see you guys later. I have some stuff to work on since we missed the rest of Sikowtiz's class."

I watched her as she walked away stunned at this new wild side of Tori I had never seen before. "What's up with her?" Andre asked.

"I don't know," Beck answered. "Maybe Jade's rubbing off on her." He smiled in my direction. I attempted to smile back at him but I could only manage a smirk before I got up and started to walk away. "Now where are you going?" he called after me.

"I'm going to go see if Tori needs any help. I _am_ her partner after all."

"Do you want me to come?" Usually I ask Beck to accompany me almost everywhere. This time was different though. I didn't want him to come with me because I wanted to be alone with Tori.

"No. We can handle it."

"Well then meet me after school and I'll give you a lift home." So many excuses ran through my mind as I realized that I didn't want to spend time with my own boyfriend because Tori was consuming my mind. _What the hell is wrong with me?_

"That's okay. We planned on meeting later tonight but we'll probably finish the skit and props, and rehearse after school today instead. Don't wait up."

"O-kay…" He seemed confused by my answer, as did everyone else at the table but I didn't care. Every minute I spent explaining myself to them was another minute lost with Tori.

"I have to go. I'll see you later…or…whenever." With that I hurried back into the school to find Tori.

It didn't take me long to find her, she wasn't at her locker and she couldn't get into any of the classrooms. That left the black box theater or the library. When I got into the black box theater she was sitting in one of the folding chairs in front of the stage. She looked back at the door when I entered. "It figures that you'd follow me."

"There's a chance I wouldn't. Like you know, if I had half a brain."

"So you have to be dumb to want to hang out with me?"

"Don't put words into my mouth."

"Well if you had half a brain you'd be pretty dumb."

"What I meant was that I know in my mind that I shouldn't have followed you in here."

"Then why did you? Why don't you just leave me alone so that I can have some time to think about this mess we call life?"

"What are you talking about? Your life is hardly a mess."

"Compared to what? Yours? Please spare me the sob story right now."

"What the hell, Vega? I don't have a sob story. All I'm saying is that it's pathetic that because you have run into a slight bump in your perfect life, to suddenly label it a mess."

"You can't possibly understand what I'm going through right now."

"Of course I can. You were curious, Vega. It happens to everyone at some point. It happened to me and I figured myself out pretty quickly."

"I know that but look at you, you have a boyfriend who cares about you in a way that most girls can only dream of. I'm pining after the impossible and we're stuck in this thing."

"Vega, you're not making any sense."

"It's hard to make sense when I'm so confused myself."

"Oh come on Vega, I thought we were passed the 'confused' stage."

"Could you stop calling me that?"

"What? Vega? That's your name isn't it?"

"Yeah it's my name when you're distancing yourself from me." She was right. I hadn't even realized I was doing it. I was letting my emotions show through the use of her name.

"Well, I'm sorry if I can't control every word that comes out of my mouth-" _Vega._ I almost said it again.

"Why don't you just go back outside before Beck comes looking for you and finds you tormenting me."

"Tormenting you? I'm just sitting here talking to you trying to understand why you're so depressed all of a sudden."

"Jade just let it go."

"No. You keep mentioning Beck. Is this about him? Obviously you don't want him to find out about last night but I don't either. Unless, of course this is about more than that. Are you using me to get to Beck?" My heart sank at the thought not because of my feelings for Beck but because of my feelings for her. In that moment the only pain I felt was the pain at the thought of Tori not wanting me. Why did I do this to myself? Why didn't I just let her figure out her problems on her own instead of trying to help her fix them? I needed to get out of there but she stood up and immediately approached me with anger in her eyes at my question.

"Are you serious? After everything, you still think I'm after Beck? I'm aware that Beck is some kind of godlike figure in this school but that doesn't mean I'm under his spell. I'd be lying if I said I have never been attracted to Beck, but so would every other girl in this damn school!" She was still angry but she took a step back to calm herself. "However, I am jealous of what you and Beck have. Who wouldn't want to be with someone they care about that much."

"You're jealous of our relationship? Then, why don't you go find someone to take your misery away and just leave me alone." I said it, but I didn't mean it. I cared about Beck but Tori was the captivating. I was a prisoner in my own mind because of her. This obsession with her was driving me insane but I had to keep my cool, distant facade in place.

"There is someone I want to be with."

My heart sank. Was she talking about the girl that started all this? The girl she had a crush on. I hated her, whoever she was. "Well why don't you make a move? What's stopping you? You're one of the most desired girls in school, second to me of course."

"I can't have her. It's the girl I told you about last night. I knew it was more than just simple admiration and I was selfish for acting like I didn't know that."

"It wasn't selfish, it's not like she knew you liked her."

"None of that matters anyway."

"Of course it matters. Is she single? Or is it-?" The possibility struck me that Tori had feelings for a girl that was completely straight. I suddenly could feel that dread that she must feel of pining for someone who would never accept her love. Wanting someone, who didn't want her back. "Is she straight?"

"You know, that's the worst part. She's not. She's bi, and knowing that is killing me because at least before I believed I couldn't have a chance; and now there is a chance but…" she trailed off. I waited for her to finish but she went quiet.

I stepped closer to her and reached out to touch her arm but stopped myself. "But what?"

She threw her hands up in frustration. "He's one of my best friend's Jade! I can't do that to him, but it's killing me, you know." Tears were starting to form in her eyes but her comment had just thrown me for a loop.

"I thought we were talking about a girl."

"Yes, his girl. Don't you get it Jade?"

Her best friends? A million possibilities had run through my head. Could it be someone that Andre had dated. Was she following one of those "codes" that friends had about not dating each other's exes? "I'm not following."

She looked at me with a defeated expression on her beautiful face. Yes, she was beautiful. Not just pretty or cute, she was beautiful and my heart fluttered as I watched the emotion cross her face. The tears were starting to trail down her cheeks and I wanted to reach out and wipe them away but I couldn't because the next thing she said stalled an actions I could make.

"It's you, Jade."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Finally! I'm sorry this chapter took so long to get posted. I've been slacking on my school work so I had to pick up the slack but I didn't mean to neglect this story in the process. I had a _House_ fan fic I had to finish and it took me awhile to get to this one, but it's finally here so...don't throw things at me. I hope this declaration appeases any hostility you may have towards me. **

**As this story progresses I'm progressing as a writer and I hope I'm progressing in a good way. Feedback is always appreciated since I do hope to write more in the future including non-fanfiction stories. Thanks for all the reviews, alerts, and favorites. As always they are greatly appreciated. I mean you're the reason I'm writing this story. If it wasn't so popular it would probably be done by now. **

**When I started writing it I only had a concept in mind not a plan. Each new event is just as much a surprise to you as it is to me. I hope I had everyone as in character as possible even though Tori was supposed to be somewhat different. Let me know if it's too farfetched or not. I don't know why I'm still sitting here writing. Not everyone reads these things but sometimes I just can't stop typing. I'll stop now. Until next time. ;)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: Victorious. do not I own **

_"It's you, Jade."_

Tori's words kept ringing in my ears as I stood rooted in my spot. I was stunned. That's the only way to describe it, stunned like one of Medusa's stone statues of warriors.

At my stunned silence she went on, "I'm surprised you didn't figure it out on your own. I mean I tried to be subtle but we all know how good I am at that."

I wanted to say something. The words were jumbled in my brain and I was trying to find a way to organize them and let them out.

"There you guys are." Andre Harris, the man I was going to kill sometime in the near future walked in at that exact moment. "Didn't you hear the bell? Class is about to start."

My tongue still seemed to be numb so Tori answered him. "We must have got caught up in rehearsing and didn't hear it. Good thing you found us in time."

She started walking away but I grabbed her arm before she could walk out. "Tori wait."

"Jade, we have to get to class. If you want to _rehearse_ more we can do it later."

"Yeah Jade, we're going to be late for our class," Andre added, "so Tori has to go. Don't you have a class?"

"Of course I have a class. That's what I go to school for isn't it?"

"Sorry."

"Let's go." Tori walked out with Andre and I followed them into the hallway, but our classes were in opposite directions so I watched her walk away. My heart had yet to slow down from the shock of Tori's statement.

As they walked further down I willed her to look back at me. I just wanted to see her face, some kind of reassurance that she wasn't kidding around. They got to the end of the hall where they would have to turn the corner and my heart sank. I decided to just go to class and stop obsessing when her head turned just as they started turning the corner. Our eyes met for a brief second and it was the reassurance I needed. When she disappeared around the corner I turned in the other direction to head to my class, a slow smile creeping onto my face.

* * *

><p>I couldn't do it.<p>

I went about the rest of my day as normal but I just kept thinking about Tori. _"It's you Jade."_ I couldn't wait until 6 or 7, or whatever time we were supposed to meet at her house. My mind was reeling and I needed to see her as soon as possible.

"Hey babe." I stopped walking in the middle of the hallway at the sound of Beck's voice. "Where you headed?"

I looked at Beck and waited for my heart to stop beating. Guilt. That's what I was feeling, plain and simple. I felt guilty because while Beck was still technically my boyfriend my feelings were Tori were taking over. The truth of the matter was that our relationship hadn't been the same in a while. Everyday it felt more and more like we were drifting apart. "Hey, I was just looking for Tori so we could work on our skit."

"I thought you were working on the skit earlier."

"We didn't have a lot of time so we're meeting up again."

"So, no ride then?"

"No. You go ahead."

"Ok." He moved in to kiss me and at that moment I saw Tori walking toward her locker and I couldn't stop my reaction.

I moved my face to the side so his lips caught my cheek instead. Then, I gave him a quick hug and said, "We'll talk later, ok?"

He looked confused and maybe even a little hurt at my rejection but he nodded. I walked away and I could feel his eyes following me for a little while before he left the building.

Tori was just closing her locker when I caught up to her. I grabbed her arm and said, "Let's go."

"She allowed me to grab her but as I was pulling her along she began to resist, "Where are we going?" I stopped at the door of the janitor's closet and as recognition dawned on her I pulled her inside with me.

"What are w-" My lips were on hers in an instant as I pushed her agains the door which barely had time to close before I was on her. She was surprised at first but I could feel her acceptance as she kissed me back with as much passion as I was giving. She wrapped her arms around my neck as I my hands trailed to her face. I pushed my body up against hers and she gasped. I took my chance as I let my tongue delve into her mouth to taste the sweetness that was Tori.

The pleasure of having her lips and body against mine was almost unbearable. I couldn't get enough of her taste and her curves melded to mine so well that I moaned into her mouth. I let my hands trail down her sides and meet at the back to graze over her delectable butt. I pulled her closer to me; I wanted her as close as possible because she felt so right against me.

Suddenly, a cell phone went off and broke the spell. It was a text alert coming from her phone. I stepped back and tried to catch my breath as she searched her pockets and pulled out her Pear Phone. "If that's Andre, tell him he's a dead man."

"It's not. It's Trina." She typed a quick message then looked up at me. "She was waiting for me outside and wanted to know where I was."

"Sorry, I didn't realize-"

"I told her to go ahead without me." I looked at her to decipher her meaning. She smiled shyly at me then stepped forward. I met her halfway as we were thrust back into our passionate embrace with her lips on mine. I hungrily tasted her mouth as my hands roamed over her body and her hands began to roam over mine.

The door to the closet opened just then. We jumped apart and saw the Janitor walking in backwards as he was pulling his cleaning cart into the room with him. I looked over at Tori for a reaction and she was looking at me questioningly as she mouthed, _"What should we do?"_ I grabbed her hand and pulled her with me as I pushed past the janitor.

I heard the faint sound of water splashing before we finally exited the building.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Since I took so long with the last chapter to do a quick update. It's a little shorter than normal but I felt like for now it needed to end there. **

**Now, just because it ended on a somewhat happy note doesn't mean that this is the end of the story. Far from it actually. Beck and Jade are still technically together after all and no one else knows about Tori's or Jade's sexuality. This story has turned into way more than I expected and I'm proud of it. **

**Thanks again for all the alerts, favorites, and reviews. **

**P.S. A response to a couple of reviewers: Fufu TheFallenAngel and Ameha Kay brought up that Jade was a little bit naive to Tori's crush on her in the last chapter. In my mind I would think Jade would be in a sort of denial about it. When you find out the person you've been crushing on likes you back it seems to good to be true. There's that old saying, "When you assume you make an 'ass' out of 'u' and 'me'." I figured she would have had to hear it straight from Tori's mouth before choosing to believe it. I apologize if she seemed out of character because of her naivety. Hopefully explaining my though process helped explain why.**

**P.P.S. That disclaimer was a test. I know how to sentences form. ;**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own Victorious in any way shape or form.**

Sikowitz's class started the way it usually did, he made a grand entrance and started talking about some kind of nonsense which would tie into our lesson. I sat in between Beck and Tori but while Beck's arm was draped over the back of my chair I was only aware of Tori's proximity. Being this close I could smell her fruity shampoo and it was intoxicating. I just wanted to run my hands through her hair as we-

"Jade, Tori do you have your skit ready?" Sikowitz broke into my thoughts before they could wander off into "hot and steamy land."

"Yeah, we're ready." Tori said as she got up to make her way to the stage. I followed her up and we started to set the stage accordingly. For our three props we decided to keep it simple because our performance was what would be getting us a grade; we had a mustache to indicate I was a man and our wedding bands to indicate that we were married. Since we figured the wedding bands counted as one prop we added a door to show the exterior of the house versus the interior.

Last night Tori and I had practiced our skit a few times, tweaking it here and there each time. We acted out every part including our special ending. I'm not sure who was more enthusiastic about it because each time we really went at it. We had been practicing in Tori's bedroom so that no one would accidentally walk in on us even though it was technically part of the assignment. As much as we loved our surprise ending we decided that we should tone it down and keep the kiss somewhat PG.

Once the stage was set we got in our places and waited for Sikowitz to say, "Action." He had a copy of the script so he could follow along. We went through each line and executed every movement perfectly. As we approached the kiss I was getting anxious. What would Beck think? It's all part of acting but Tori and I wrote the script so it's not something we had to do. Everyone else would be surprised but I didn't care about them, I cared about Beck and his feelings.

I heard Tori give my cue and immediately went into my line. "This is amazing! We need to celebrate! We need to-oh come here." I grabbed her hand and spun her toward me just as we practiced. She spun into my arms and wrapped her arms around me and I only hesitated a moment before I captured her lips with mine. It ended almost as fast as it had started but I could still feel her on my lips. I let my tongue dart out to taste what was left of her.

"And scene," Tori stated for the audience signaling the end of our skit. I looked around the classroom and noted that everyone had a shocked expression on their face. Sikowitz was the only person that was grinning from ear to ear and he is the one who started the applause before the whole class erupted in hoots and hollers.

I looked at Tori and smirked and she smiled back at me. Our hands met in between our bodies as we bowed for the audience. They loved us. I looked over at Beck; while he was clapping with everyone else he had a curious look on his face.

"That was marvelous you two," Sikowitz said gleefully. "Taking chances and going for the shock value is what acting is all about."

"I thought you said acting wa-"

"Robbie! Must you interrupt me while I'm giving a lesson!"

"I was only-"

"Hush! Tori and Jade, you may take your seats. Andre and Cat, your next."

Tori and I took our seats and watched as Cat and Andre acted out their skit that involved a rubber snake and some purple goo. I tried to pay attention but Tori's foot was brushing against my leg. She had her right leg crossed over her left leg and she was sitting at a slight angle. To anyone else it would look like her foot had accidentally touched my leg, but I knew better. She was doing it on purpose and she was slowly moving it up and down, lightly brushing my leg with her foot.

After a couple of minutes she shifted, causing her foot to shift higher on my leg. I shot her a glare but she had her eyes focused on the stage. She was playing the innocent girl and I saw it as a challenge. I shifted my arms-which had been crossed in front of me-so that my hands were hanging by my sides. I let my arms swing slightly so I wouldn't draw attention to them. I let my hand brush Tori's jean clad leg and I felt her leg jerk in response.

Tori straightened out her legs so that both feet were touching the floor. Like that would stop me. I leaned over toward her a little more and let my hand brush her thigh. Another jerk in response, she looked over at me as if begging me to stop. I ignored her completely and brought my arms up in a long stretch before letting my hand fall and rest on her thigh. She looked at my hand, then back at me, her eyes pleading me not to go further. I let my hand inch further up her thigh slightly.

"And scene," Andre said from the stage. The whole class erupted in applause and Tori took this as a chance to remove my hand from her body as she stood to give Cat and Andre a standing ovation that they probably didn't deserve.

The bell rang signaling that class was over and Sikowitz shouted something about working on some kind of acting method. As we walked out the door I went to follow Tori in an attempt to tease her some more but someone's arm wrapped around my shoulders before I got the chance. "So do you want to skip lunch and go make out in my car?"

My stomach lurched as I turned my head to face Beck. "I'm actually kind of hungry so I don't think skipping lunch is such a good idea."

His smile wavered, "Okay. Maybe later then?"

"Yeah." I looked around and saw Tori talking to Cat at her locker, but her attention wasn't fully on the red head.

"Until then a small sample will suffice." Beck's words didn't register until his lips came crashing down on mine. I had done this a million times with Beck, maybe more, but there was something different this time. His kiss didn't affect me the way it used to. I didn't melt or feel heat rush through my body. I didn't want to immediately rip his shirt off and wrap my arms around his body.

This time as his lips moved over mine I felt nothing. It felt like a stage kiss. No feeling just acting. He must have noticed this because he pulled back at the point where he would have deepened the kiss. As I looked into his eyes I saw some kind of emotion on his face. I couldn't decipher it because at that moment a sudden thought came to my mind: _Tori_.

I turned in time to see Tori hurry down the hall and turn the corner in a flash. "Beck, I have to go pee. I'll see you outside in a minute." How stupid did that sound? I started walking in the direction Tori went.

"Do you want me to wait for you?"

"No. Just go. I'll meet you out there." I didn't wait for a response as I practically ran down the hall to catch up to Tori. _What the hell is wrong with me?_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This is another short chapter and I'm sorry about that. I'm trying to focus on school right now and it's hard to balance everything at once. A month from now I'll be out of school and will be able to focus on this story more, but right now I'm just trying to make it to graduation. Class of 2012! WOOT! WOOT! **

**Anyway, I hoped you liked this chapter even though the ending isn't so great. Another cliffy…don't kill me. I'll update as soon as I can, but I can't give you an exact time frame. Hopefully it's within a week, but I can't make any promises.**

**Sidenote: I finally hit the ten chapter mark! Yay! It's not a big deal but in my mind this is the longest time I've been committed to a story. The positive feedback made me determined to see this story all the way through. Thanks for the story alerts, favorites, and reviews. Until next time..**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious or any of the characters from the show.**

After searching the library, the black box theater, and even several classrooms, Jade finally found Tori in the girls bathroom. Sort of. She had heard someone sniffling in one of the stalls but when she looked for feet there were none. "Tori, I know you're in here so you can stop hiding."

Tori didn't move and she didn't make a sound. "Come on Tori. You can't hide in here forever and I'm not leaving until you come out. Just come out and talk to me." She waited a beat before adding, "Please." Jade didn't want to sound desperate but she felt like the world was closing in on her. When she saw Tori rushing down the hallway she felt her heart sink.

Finally after about a minute of waiting a pair of grey Chuck Taylors appeared under one of the stalls before the stall door opened. Tori came out with puffy eyes and a red splotchy face. She held a mangled tissue in her hand but did her best to act like she hadn't been crying this whole time.

Jade immediately went to her and wrapped her arms around the fragile girl. "I'm so sorry Tori."

"Jade," Tori's voice was muffled by Jade's shoulder so she stepped back. "It kills me to know that he can touch you in public and I can't. I know we don't want the whole world to know about us but I thought that maybe…you and I…well, you know…"

"Look Tori, I want to be with you it's just that this just happened you know. I haven't had a chance to break up with Beck."

"You're breaking up with him?"

Confusion instantly marred Jade's features, "Of course I'm breaking up with him. Unless…you don't want me to…."

"I know it sounds stupid but I just don't want to see him get hurt, you know. He's my friend too and I care about him."

Now Jade was even more confused. "I'm getting mixed signals here Tori. Do you want to be with me or not?"

"Of course I want to be with you! I didn't mean it like that."

"Then did you want some kind of weird, three-way relationship? You, me, and Beck?"

She laughed then, and even though Jade was annoyed by her confusion she couldn't help but smile when Tori laughed. When Tori laughed it was contagious and something stirred inside of Jade. She felt stupid for smiling but she couldn't help it.

Once Tori's laughter died down she said, "Obviously that's not what I meant. I'm not some kind of polygamist or whatever. It's just that with this whole thing moving so fast, it never occurred to me that we could possibly be hurting anyone. Until now."

"I have to break up with him."

"I know."

"Do you want to…be there when it happens?"

"Isn't that kind of twisting the knife?"

"I don't think so. Besides, this was a long time coming anyway. It's inevitable that we would have broken up, with or without your help."

"Oh, well that makes me feel better," Tori stated sarcastically. "I'm glad I could help speed things up for you."

"Don't blame yourself Tori. No one else is blaming you."

"Yeah, that's because no one else knows about us."

"That's another thing. Are we ever going to tell people about us or are we going to just keep hiding it?"

"We should probably wait a little while. If you break up with Beck then jump into a relationship with me, people are going to start making up stories."

"And most of them will probably be true."

Tori nodded in agreement. "By the way," she said with a sly smile on her face, "we never actually made our relationship official."

"What do you mean? We practically seared through our clothing when we kissed the other day. That didn't seal the deal?"

"No. You never asked me to be your girlfriend."

"Well, maybe that's because I still technically have a boyfriend," Jade teased back effectively. "Besides, you never asked me either."

"You're right though. We should wait until you break up with Beck before we are officially a couple."

"Does that mean we can't make out?"

"I don't like to kiss anyone I'm not dating," Tori teased.

"That didn't stop you before." Jade inched closer to Tori.

"That's because I wasn't capable of rational thought before." Tori took a step back.

"So now you're thinking rationally? Well, I can fix that." Jade eliminated the space between them grabbing Tori. Before she had a chance to taste her lips the bathroom door opened revealing none other than Cat Valentine at the door. Tori and Jade jumped apart. _"At least it's not Andre_,_"_ Jade thought.

"There you are!" Cat exclaimed.

Jade was annoyed, "We were going to meet you guys out there. You didn't have to come looking for us."

"I wasn't looking for you."

Tori looked at Jade confused before saying, "Then why did you come in here and say, 'There you are?'"

"Oh, well Beck was looking for you."

Jade's eyes widened. "Is he out there now?"

"Yes, he asked me to see if you were in here while he waited outside." Cat turned to open the bathroom door and spoke into the hallway, "You were right; they're both in here."

_Shit._ Jade had told Beck she would meet him later. Why was he looking for her? Jade looked at Tori, "Let's go. I have a feeling Beck and I need to have this conversation sooner rather than later."

Tori nodded with a sad smile. She grabbed Jade's hand and gave it a squeeze before leaving the bathroom. Jade waited a few seconds before following.

* * *

><p>The Black Box Theater was empty. There were no chairs set up and the stage was bare. Beck and Jade had been standing in silence ever since they entered the room five minutes before. Jade was picking at her nails while Beck just stared at her.<p>

Beck finally broke the silence with a frustrated sigh. "Are you not going to say anything?"

"What do you want me to say?" Jade didn't want to say anything that would hurt Beck but she also wanted to know exactly what he suspected.

"I think I deserve an explanation Jade." Beck was angry. He didn't lose his cool often, but as Jade watched him push his hand through his hair in a jerky motion she knew that he was flipping out. He continued, "You have been so distant lately. You don't call me or text me. Whenever we get a minute alone you always seem to run off."

"Beck, I never wanted to hurt you."

"Just tell me, Jade. I need to know what happened."

"I just don't feel the same way that I used to. I love you Beck, but it's not in the same way that I did a year ago."

Beck snorted and turned to walk away before immediately turning back toward Jade. "Okay, so you don't feel the same way about me. When were you planning on telling me this?"

"I was going to tell you. I just wanted it to be the right time."

"When would be the right time Jade? Were you going to wait a week? A month? Or did you just want to wait until after you found someone else to play games with?"

Jade was taken aback by how close Beck came to the truth. _Does he know?_

"Do you think I'm stupid Jade?"

"What? Of course not. I don't know what you're talking about?"

"Jade, I'm not blind. You have been spending so much time with Tori lately anybody would wonder what was going on."

"We were working on a project, Beck."

"Yeah, well that project was great. That kiss was really unexpected. It was great. You surprised everyone."

"What are you getting at Beck?" Jade was feeling anxious. Beck had figured out that something about Tori and Jade's relationship had changed.

"Jade, you like her! You've been spending all of your spare time with her and you two disappear together all the time. What the hell is going on?" He was practically screaming at her now.

Jade hated being screamed at and Beck knew that. There was a fire raging inside her and it wanted to burst out. "Beck, Tori and I are trying to be friends."

"Don't give me that bullshit!"

That was it. "Fine! You know what? It's true. Me and Tori have been sneaking around together! We can't keep our hands off of each other and she makes me feel like you never did! Are you happy?" Jade was heated. She was panting with the fire she just spit at him but inside she knew that she had said the wrong thing. She had never meant to hurt Beck.

As the fire in her died down she felt nothing but guilt as she looked at the hurt that crossed over Beck's features. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."

"No. I think you made your feelings pretty clear."

"We aren't even a couple yet Beck. We were just talking about it."

"Well I hope you and Tori have a happy relationship then." He started to walk away.

"Beck wait." Jade reached out to grab Beck's arm and stop him.

"I never meant to hurt you. _We_ never meant to hurt you."

"It's a little late for that."

"I know that now but Tori…"

"It's going to take some time, but she's my friend. While this might change things, I'm still her friend."

"And me?"

"Goodbye Jade." With that he walked away.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I did it! I honestly wasn't going to put up a chapter this week but I couldn't let you all down. Originally this chapter was only going to be about Jade and Tori. It was really short so I decided to add the break up to this chapter. I wanted the break up to be a little bit calmer but I needed it to be realistic. **

**Once again, thank you for all the favorites, alerts, and reviews. **

**P.S. Bonus points for a short A/N. :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: Who owns Victorious? Not I.**

"Is that really _all_ he said?" Tori asked Jade. After school they both went over to Tori's house and were now sitting in the living room talking about Beck. They had their school books on the coffee table giving the image that they were doing homework, however they had yet to open them.

"Yeah. He didn't say, 'I never want to speak to you again,' or, 'I hate you.' Just 'goodbye,' then he was left."

"Well, did you at least go after him."

"We talked about everything already, what else was I supposed to say."

"I don't know. I just hate the thought of him being so hurt."

"I know, but there's nothing we can do about that now. What's done is done." Jade moved to grab her Pear phone from the table.

"What are you doing?"

"I have to change my status on TheSlap."

"What?"

"People need to know Beck and I broke up so that they don't start hounding us with questions as to why we're acting different."

"So, what are you posting? Are you going to say that you're single?"

"Well, I was just going to delete the 'In a relationship with Beck Oliver' from my profile. Why? What did you want me to post?"

"I don't know. I mean, technically you aren't single. And if you post that you are guys might start to flock to you immediately."

"I'm glad you have so much confidence in my sexual prowess," Jade smirked. "What do you want me to post? That I'm in a relationship with 'anonymous'?"

"Well, that would just cause people to ask questions?"

"If I remember correctly, you said that we shouldn't go public until a while after I break up with Beck. Are you changing you're mind?"

"I don't know. I just don't want you to be 'on the market' in some people's eyes. I also don't want to embarrass Beck. If you post that you're in a relationship with someone else people will assume you dumped Beck to be with someone else."

"That's kind of what happened."

"Yeah but the whole world doesn't need to know that. Besides, you said you were thinking about breaking up with him anyway."

"I was. You just sped up the process." Jade leaned toward Tori until their faces were inches apart. "Does that make you feel powerful?"

Tori leaned back slightly. Whether it was from fear or something else Jade didn't know, but she took the opportunity to lean further into Tori so that their bodies were touching and she was close enough to steal a kiss. "Do I make you nervous Tori?"

Tori shook her head and her expression changed. Before Jade knew what was happening she was flipped onto her back on the couch. The roles had been reversed and Tori was now in control. "Not nervous. More like turned on." A tremor went through Jade's spine as Tori bowed her head to capture Jade's lips.

Jade loved being in control of a situation but handing the control over to Tori felt exciting. She went to move her hands around Tori's body before she realized that they were pinned to the cushions by Tori's hands. Jade could have easily pulled them free but relinquishing the power to Tori was an experience she didn't want to miss out on.

She allowed Tori to take control of her mouth and was disappointed when she pulled away. The disappointment was gone when Tori's lips found Jade's jawline. Tori kissed a trail down her jaw to her neck where Jade felt her suck in a breath of air, inhaling her scent. Tori nipped and sucked at Jade's neck before laving her tongue over the spot. Jade moaned and writhed under Tori. She was so lost that she could hear bells chiming. Wait a minute...

_Ding Dong_

Of course it was the doorbell. Why would Jade ever be able to have uninterrupted privacy? Tori pulled away from Jade and straightened out her clothes just as whoever was at the door decided they wanted to knock this time. "Coming!" Tori shouted as she helped pull Jade into a sitting position. When she stalked over to the door she asked, "Who is it?"

"It's Andre."

_Shit._ Jade had no reason to be here with Tori right now; Andre would surely suspect something. Could he have heard about Beck and Jade's break up already? Maybe he would think Jade was looking for comfort here. _Who am I kidding?_ Jade looked at Tori to see what she should do but she was already opening the door.

"You told me you would help me with my song, remember." Andre immediately saw Jade sitting in the living room. "Were you two in the middle of something?"

"No we were ju-"

"Actually we were in the middle of something," Jade cut Tori off. Tori looked shocked at Jade's outburst. "Come on in Andre, and maybe we can talk about your terrible timing. You always seem to interrupt us at the _most_ inopportune times!"

"What are you talking about? If I recall, the last time I interrupted you guys you were working on a project _and_ you said you were finished for the night."

"Yeah, you want to know what you really interrupted?"

Tori looked terrified. "Jade, do we have to do this now? Maybe we should talk about this later, when your not in a mood."

"Is this about you and Beck?" Andre asked. "I'm sorry about your break-up okay, but you don't need to take it out on me."

"Guys maybe we should all work on the song together."

"Yeah. Yeah, let's work on a song about privacy."

"Jade don't-"

"Don't what Tori? Don't tell him what's going on? The reason we can never be alone is because no one knows what's going on. Maybe if they knew we wouldn't have to sneak around to even talk to each other!"

"Wait. What are you guys talking about?" Andre looked back and forth between the two girls.

"Go ahead Jade," Tori started, "Tell him. Isn't that what you want? To get it out there."

It was then that Jade noticed that her anger and frustration had gotten the better of her. She had all but blurted out their secret even though she knew they weren't ready. Tori was on the verge of tears and it was because of her. Andre looked so confused and Jade knew that she had no choice but to tell him.

"I'm sorry Tori. I didn't mean to-"

"You didn't mean to what? You didn't mean to go ahead and out me to my best friend without my permission. You didn't mean to 'take charge of the situation' and make a decision for the both of us. We are way passed apologies here. What's done is done." Jade watched Tori and silence knowing that the girl was right. She couldn't take anything back and they hadn't even made a decision on whether they were an item or not.

"I'm a little confused here."

Jade almost forgot that Andre was still in the room. She looked over at him, then at Tori. Tori gave a slight nod loaded with uncertainty. Jade looked back at Andre.

"Look, Tori and I…we've sort of been…" She watched as realization dawned on Andre's face.

"Are you saying that the two of you," he gestured between the two girls, "are…."

"Yeah, we're together."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: What? A cliffhanger? Of course! What kind of author would I be if I didn't leave you hanging at the end of the chapter? Stop throwing things at me! I posted this a little bit later than I planned because my schoolwork got in the way. Ugh! But on the bright side, I'm almost done and in about a week and a half I will officially be a college graduate! :)**

**This has been the hardest semester for me so far and I blame fanfiction. I am so addicted to fanfiction! But I found the cure…more fanfiction? Ugh! Whatever.**

**I'm just kidding I love writing and I love shipping Jori, so this is a great release for me. Once again, thanks for all the alerts, favorites, and reviews. I really appreciate them guys. It's what keeps me going. How do you think Andre's going to react? Remember, this story is rated T not M, so there will be no threesomes in the next chapter. Haha Until next time! :P**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: No, I don't own Victorious. Do I look like the magnificent Dan Schneider?...Don't answer that.**

Andre stared in shock at the two girls. They waited for his response, and when it didn't come right away Tori broke the silence. "So…."

"Are you going to say something?" Jade interrupted, annoyed.

"I don't know what to say."

"Great. So we can move on now," Jade said.

"Wait," Andre stopped her as she was turning away from him.

"Ugh!" Jade turned back around.

"How long have the two of you been together? I mean, didn't you just break up with Beck?"

"If you are implying that I was cheating on Beck, we've already talked about this. It's really none of your business but Beck and I have been drifting apart for some time already."

"And that gives you the right to cheat on him?"

Tori got in between the two of them, "No one was cheating on anybody. We weren't even sure what this was until today."

"That doesn't mean you weren't playing Beck."

"Look," Jade started, "Beck and I already talked about this. He understands that I've moved on. We may not be on speaking terms right now, but it doesn't mean he won't accept us."

"We weren't planning on telling anyone yet anyway. We weren't even going to make it official for another couple of weeks."

"Well now that I know, it seems pretty official. How long did you think you guys could hide this?"

Jade smirked, "We were hiding it pretty well from you up until now."

"Exactly. I found out."

"No, we told you."

"It doesn't matter. With all the time that the to of you have been spending together, someone was bound to find out sooner or later."

"Andre, we would really appreciate if you don't tell anyone right now," Tori said. "For Beck's sake. We don't want people to think that Jade left Beck to be with me."

"Isn't that how it happened?" Andre asked.

"No," Jade answered. "Beck and I have been growing apart and I was planning on breaking up with him eventually."

"So the timing was just right wasn't it?" Andre still didn't seemed convinced.

"Believe what you want, it doesn't affect me one way or the other."

"It affects me," Tori said in a pleading tone. "Andre, you have to believe I would never want to hurt Beck. He's my friend too."

"Yeah, some friend." Andre began to walk back toward the door.

"Andre wait," Tori stopped him, "What about the song?"

"I've go a lot of stuff to process right now. I can't be here right now. I need to clear my head; at home because I won't be able to think here, especially after all of this."

"Please don't be mad at me."

"I'm not mad. I'm just…I gotta go." Andre turned and walked out the door.

After a few seconds of silence Jade broke it. "So…Where were we?" She stepped toward Tori.

"You were just about to leave," Tori answered while gathering her school supplies off of the table.

"What? Why? What the hell are you mad at me for?"

"My best friend is mad at me. You could have been a little nicer to him, you know. Especially knowing his relationship with Beck."

"What relationship? They're friends, like you and Cat."

"They have a 'bro code' or whatever. You think he wouldn't get defensive for him."

"Look Tori, you can't get mad at me like this every time somebody finds out about us."

"I won't but if you're going to act the way you did with Andre, then I'm going to have to treat you the same way."

"What the hell?"

"Yes, I will put you through hell if you put my friends through hell. You have to accept that I need to make time for my friends and they will accept that I need time to be alone with you. It's called compromise, Jade!"

"I'm not going to deal with this right now." Jade began to gather her things from the coffee table.

"Go ahead, run from your problems like you always do."

"I am NOT running from anything. I just can't deal with you in this state."

"You've dealt with it fine before. What's changed now? A couple of intense make out sessions and now we can't face our problems anymore?"

Jade walked toward the door, then stopped and turned around. "You know what Vega? Fuck you."

"I bet you'd love to." A smirk slowly crept onto Tori's face.

Jade stood at in front of the door, stunned. How could this beautiful creature be so angry one minute, then flirtatious the next. Jade was ready to strangle her but suddenly she wanted her hands elsewhere on Tori's body. She walked back toward her slowly. "Vega, you are something else," she said cocking an eyebrow in suspicion.

"So I'm Vega again. I was getting so used to you moaning my first name."

"Don't toy with me Tori."

"That's more I like it."

Jade lunged for her but Tori stopped her with one hand. "Before we get too carried away. You really do need to go and I need to try to fix things with Andre."

Jade sighed in resignation, "You should let him cool off first. He's a guy and he's frustrated. I'd give him about an hour or so."

"Okay," Tori nodded. She moved forward and lifted one hand to Jade's cheek. Tori pressed her lips to Jade's softly and while Jade tried to deepen the kiss, Tori kept it soft and sweet.

It was over too soon for Jade. She sighed somewhat disappointed, but glad that they had some kind of understanding now. Tori was breath of fresh air for Jade, she knew that their relationship would be pushed through many trials and that they would have to make many compromises, but she was willing to go through it all if it meant more sweet, Tori kisses.

With one last embrace Jade left Tori's house with a lot on her mind. She was falling hard and fast for this girl. "I'm in trouble."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Finals are over! Yay! That means I'll have more time to focus on this fic. BUT! Next week I'm going to be super busy with the preparations for graduation and all that good stuff. I'm also working on getting a new job that's not Walmart. Yes, that's right. I work at Walmart I like to call myself a Walmartian. It rolls right off the tongue.**

**Stop getting sidetracked! Anyway, I will try to post another chapter next week but with such limited time to work on it I don't know if it will be ready in a week. Please don't lose hope. I promise I will be back with another chapter as soon as possible.**

**Once again, thank you for all the alerts, favorites, and reviews. i really appreciate them. You guys are awesome and you have all motivated me every step of the way through the journey that is this story. Thank you so much. I love hearing form you guys. **

**:)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious.**

**A/N: There is a short skit within this chapter so I formatted it differently to make it easier to write. The person speaking will be in bold letters and whatever they say follows the colon but does not have quotations around it. Hope you don't get confused. Enjoy!**

Jade woke with a start to the sound of her phone ringing. She grabbed the phone to turn off the phone's alarm mechanism only to see that she had several messages from TheSlap.

"Oh no."

She immediately logged on to the website and checked her messages. She saw that a few people had commented on her newly single status. Cat wanted to know what happened, while Sinjin only asked if Jade needed a shoulder to cry on. She scrolled through her messages until she came upon Andre's:

_don't believe everything u hear or read_

This of course was followed by many more comments asking what Andre was talking about. Jade tossed her phone onto her bed and fell back onto her pillow. She thought about the night before and how Andre had reacted to the news about her and Tori. Would he tell everyone or would he respect their wishes since Tori _was_ his best friend? She didn't know and wasn't ready to find out.

Jade had to force herself out of bed so she wouldn't be late for school. She had no motivation to go to school today especially since she had no idea what to expect when she arrived. She didn't want to have to face Andre or Beck, or anybody else for that matter. The only thing that made her get in her car was the fact that she knew Tori would go to school, and she couldn't let Tori face everybody on her own.

"This girl is going to be the death of me."

* * *

><p>The halls of Hollywood Arts High School were bustling with the usual mass of people playing music and dancing all over. Jade pushed through the entrance of the school and made a beeline for her locker. She kept her head low and tried not to attract any attention.<p>

"Jade!"

Of course Cat Valentine was pretty perceptive, especially when Jade was trying to hide.

"Cat, I don't have time to chat."

Cat laughed, "That rhymed. Cat and chat, who would have thought?"

"Yeah. That's pretty funny, but I have to go so…" Jade attempted to turn away from the red head.

"Wait, I have a question."

Annoyed Jade asked, "What is it?"

"Why did you and Beck break up? Is it because you didn't want to eat lunch with him? Did you guys get into a fight? Are you going to date Sinjin now? Where-"

"Cat! That was more than one question."

"Oh, sorry. I get carried away sometimes."

"Look, Beck and I broke up because we needed to and I'm not going to date Sinjin or any other guy that saw my status on TheSlap." Technically I wasn't lying. Even if Tori had seen my status on TheSlap she already knew about my break-up, and she was definitely not a guy.

"Well, are you guys going to at least be friends?"

"I doubt that either of us is ready for that right now."

"But it will be so awkward because we're all friends, and we eat lunch together. And what about Sikowitz' class? Where will you sit?"

"Cat, I really have to go, but don't worry about all that stuff okay. We'll figure everything out."

"Okay."

"See you later." Jade started to turn away again.

"Oh wait!"

"What now?" Jade turned back toward Cat, frustrated.

"I forgot to tell you that Tori was looking for you earlier."

"Cat!"

"I'm sorry."

"Well, where is she?"

"She said she would be in the black box theater until class started."

Without a word she turned away from Cat and hurried down the hall. Jade passed through several corridors before finally stopping at the black box theater. She caught her breath and went inside. Empty. There was no sign of Tori anywhere.

"Tori?" Jade called out in case she was hidden out of view. There was no answer. She turned to leave the theater when she noticed a post-it note stuck to a pole by the door. She took the note and read:

_Jade-_

_Waited a few mins, but had to get to class._

_We'll talk later, after Sikowitz._

_~Tori :)_

A smile crept across Jade's face but she immediately covered it with a scowl. She was supposed to be frustrated that she had missed Tori, but instead she felt her heart melt at the thought that she had been here and made the effort to write a note explaining why she had left. She shouldn't feel so giddy because of a note. Jade West should not feel giddy about anything, but she did and it scared her.

Jade tossed the post-it note into her bag and walked out of the black box theater. As she made her way to her first class of the day she hummed a tune. Strangely enough it was a happy tune. She stopped herself.

"Ugh! I'm going to be sick."

* * *

><p>It seemed like a whole day had passed by the time the bell rang signaling it was time for Sikowitz' class. Jade entered the classroom and immediately scanned the room for Tori. She was sitting with an empty seat to her immediate left. Jade smiled and plopped herself down next to Tori.<p>

"Hey," Tori said when Jade was seated.

"Hey yourself."

"Cat told me that you were rushing to class this morning."

"I was, but did she tell you that she almost forgot to tell me that you were looking for me?"

"Uh, no."

"Well by the time I she told me you had already gone to class so it doesn't matter. I got your note anyway."

"Good." Tori sat back in her seat.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, why?"

"You're being quiet."

Tori bit her nibbled on her bottom lip before answering in a hushed voice, "I just…I don't know how we should act with each other. I know we aren't telling anyone, but does that mean that we have to act like we don't like each other?"

"Of course not. We're friends, so we can act like friends."

"We're really good friends."

Jade smirked and said, "Well yeah, and if you keep looking at me like you want to eat me alive everyone's going to know."

"I wasn't looking at you like that," Tori retorted.

Jade chuckled, "I know, I just really like seeing you all flustered."

Tori's furrowed brow softened and her frown turned into a smile. "You know I'm really gullible."

"Yeah I know. It makes fooling you so easy and fun."

Sikowitz chose that moment to burst into the classroom. "Let's get started!" he exclaimed. He went on to explain how setting can affect a scene. After giving a few examples he asked for volunteers to act out a specific scene in three different settings. A few people raised their hands but Sikowitz already knew who he wanted.

"Beck and Tori, can you please step up on the stage."

Tori immediately looked in Beck's direction. Obviously giving him time to think settle in with the idea of Jade being with her was not going to happen. Tori looked at Jade and Jade gave her a nod of assurance. Jade watched Tori stand and make her way to the stage. She was nervous for Tori but she did her best not to show her. Beck, ever the professional followed Tori onto the stage.

Sikowitz went on to explain what kind of scene they would be doing, "The two of you will play two friends arguing about…something. I will yell out three different settings and you have to interact with your imaginary surroundings as well. This will show how important the setting is for a scene."

"So we just have to argue?" Tori asked.

"Yes."

"About anything?" Beck asked.

"Yes. Now get ready. You're in a grocery store…and action."

Tori and Beck started to walk across the stage acting like they were perusing the aisles of a grocery store. Tori pushed an imaginary cart in front of her as they both pretended to take things off the shelves.

**Tori: **I can't believe you forgot to buy the ingredients. We can't have a party without a cake.

**Beck:** Well, maybe I wasn't in a partying mood.

**T: **What do you mean? We've been planning this party for weeks.

**B: **Things happen unexpectedly sometimes, and feelings can change.

**T:** Are you saying you don't want to have a party anymore?

**B: **Maybe that is what I'm saying.

"Now you're in the jungle!" Sikowitz shouted, interrupting the actors for only a couple of seconds.

With the change in setting Tori and Beck were now pretending to make their way through trees and vines, pushing all the imaginary obstacles out of their way.

**T: **So many people will be coming over tonight. Are you just not going to show up?

**B:** Well I don't really want to be there with everyone when I know I'm being lied to!

**T:** Lied to?

**B: **Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. You of all people should know. It's embarrassing to be the one that's "out of the loop."

**T:** What does this have to do with me? What did I do?

From her seat in the audience Jade watched in horror as the very _real_ argument took place in front of her. She sensed that Tori knew as well but was trying to keep her personal life out of the exercise. However, Beck wasn't backing off so easy.

**B: **Don't act all innocent and naive. You know exactly what I'm talking about. I felt like such a fool when I found out. Like, how could I not have seen it?

**T:** Maybe you should calm down so you don't say something you'll regret.

**B:** Calm down? I am always calm. I'm Mr. Cool, Calm, and Collected, but I'm sick of it. I have feelings too, you know. Did you think I wouldn't get hurt? That you could hide something like this from me until I was calm enough to accept it? Well, you thought wrong because it hurts like hell to know that someone I loved stopped loving me and started loving someone else! It shouldn't hurt so much because I expected she didn't love me, but guess what? It does. It hurts just as much.

**T: **Beck, I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt you.

"And now you're in a car!" Sikowitz exclaimed with a huge smile on his face. He still believed this scene was just a scene, while the rest of the class was silent. Jade knew that none of them knew exactly what Beck was talking about, but they all had to know it had something to do with her. After Tori's apology who knew what was going through their minds.

Tori, going along with the acting exercise, acted like she was driving a car. Beck assumed his position next to her.

**B: **I know…Trust me. I know you didn't want to hurt me. Especially you of all people. But that doesn't mean it didn't happen.

They acted in silence for a few seconds before Beck continued.

**B:** I shouldn't have lashed out at you like that. Especially not here where your so vulnerable. I just…I try not to let my emotions get the better of me, but we can't all be cool, calm, and collected all the time.

**T:** I understand.

**B:** Park here.

Beck, being the amazing actor that he was stayed in the scene even though the conversation he had just had with Tori had been so personal. He looked over at her before pretending to exit the vehicle.

"And scene!" Sikowitz called out signaling that the scene was now over. "Tori, Beck thank you for that amazing performance. You may now go back to your seats. Now, class I want you to remember tha-"

The sound of the Hollywood Arts bell rang through the classroom cutting off whatever parting words Sickowitz had for the class.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I want to thank everyone for being so patient with me. It took me awhile to write this because of graduation and everything leading up to it. I am now officially a college graduate so I should have more time to write. I will also be doing an internship this summer as well as working at my part-time job. It'll keep me busy but I promise I will update at least once a week.**

**I also wanted to let you all know that writing this story has actually inspired me to write a chapter long book. I had a creative writing class in which I wrote several short stories that people seemed to really like. I want to publish a book sometime in my lifetime so I figured I would make a book of short stories, but thanks to you guys and the support I've gotten from this fic I plan on trying my hand at writing a full-length book. **

**Thank you all so much for the alerts, favorites, and reviews. It really warms my heart to see how much you all like the story. I'm going to stop writing now before I get too emotional, but once again, thank you**


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious.**

Jade found Beck going towards his locker immediately after class. She rushed toward him still angry from what happened in class. Everyone in that classroom knew all about their breakup but they didn't know what exactly happened; excluding Andre of course. Beck had basically hinted to everyone that Jade had left him to be with someone else and while he never mentioned who, the fact that he was mad at Tori about it was a big clue. Jade hoped people had assumed he was only taking his anger for Jade out on Tori because she was a female.

When Jade reached Beck she grabbed his arm. "Hey! What the hell did you think you were doing in there?"

"It's called acting."

"Yeah, that's what you were supposed to be doing. You weren't supposed to be putting our personal lives out there."

"Sikowitz wanted us to have an argument so I borrowed from reality. It's really no big deal."

"No big deal? Of course it's a big deal! Everyone knows about our breakup and now they're going to think I cheated on you!" Jade's anger was attracting attention. She didn't notice until she felt a gentle hand fall on her shoulder. She turned to see Tori standing behind her as well as a few other students surrounding her and Beck.

"Maybe you two should discuss this somewhere more private," Tori pleaded, "You're kind of causing a scene."

Jade looked around at the crowd that had gathered around them. "Maybe everyone should just mind their own business. Do you not have anything better to do?"

The crowd began to disperse. In a calming voice Tori persisted, "It's still probably better if you two talk someplace private."

"I think we've done enough talking," Beck said. "We have nothing more to say to each other."

"Oh I have plenty to say to you," Jade insisted, "This conversation is not over."

In a calmer tone than Jade's, Tori addressed Beck, "Beck please. We need to sort this situation out. There is so much you two aren't saying to each other. It was pretty obvious back there that you still have a lot to say."

Beck looked up at Tori, then around at the people still roaming the halls. "Let's go over here."

Beck led the two girls to the janitor's closet. Once inside he closed the door and leaned back on it. He let out a heavy sigh and ran his hand through his hair. "Tori's right, I have a lot to say. Obviously you know I'm hurt, but Andre told me that you guys told him about your relationship last night. You told me that you two weren't official."

"We're not exclusive or anything," Jade started, "and Andre should mind his own damn business."

"Jade, Andre's just looking out for a friend," Tori said. It irked Jade that Tori kept defending Andre, but she was glad that Tori was there. The two exes would probably kill each other if she wasn't there to moderate them.

"It doesn't matter," Jade said.

"Why doesn't it matter?" Beck asked. "Just because this breakup didn't affect you at all doesn't mean it didn't affect me."

"I never said it didn't affect me. You think I wanted us to end? You think I wanted to fall out of love with you?"

"I'm sorry. You hide your hurt so well since you obviously moved on so quickly."

"Yes, I moved on. I can't help that I found someone else. The timing was horrible, I'll admit that, but Tori and I would have eventually gotten together even if it was later on."

"I have nothing against you two being together! It's the fact that you were with her behind my back."

"We weren't together! We were just getting to know these feelings."

"Then why did you tell Andre you have been together for a couple of weeks."

"I never said that. I said that this thing has been happening for a couple of weeks. We told him we aren't even exclusive now."

"Then why did you tell him at all."

"He's supposedly Tori's best friend. He's always around so he was bound to find out." Jade saw Tori shift uncomfortably at the words "best friend" and Jade knew it was because she hadn't spoken to Andre since the night before. Jade attempted to speak calmly, "Look Beck, I don't want to keep fighting with you all the time. I really am sorry for hurting you in anyway. I would never throw my relationship in your face like that."

Beck looked down at the floor, then back up at Jade. His face didn't show as much anger as it had before. "I know there's no way to salvage our relationship. Trust me, that's not what I want. I just want you to feel some remorse for stringing me along when you knew you didn't want to be with me."

"Is that why you brought it up in front of the whole class? You know it wasn't just me you were embarrassing, Tori was the one getting the brunt of your anger."

"I know," Beck turned toward Tori, "and I'm sorry Tori. I honestly didn't plan on getting so angry."

"I understand why you were angry though," Tori said. "Obviously Sikowitz doesn't read TheSlap, or he just doesn't care about other people's moods."

One corner of Beck's mouth twitched as if he were about to smile. "You know Tori, as much as it hurts that my ex-girlfriend has moved on so fast, I can not be mad at you."

Tori smiled. Jade wasn't amused, "But it's really easy to get mad at _me_ isn't it?"

"That's not what he meant-" Tori started to say.

"He's never had a problem getting mad at me, but he has never even had an argument with you."

"Jade," Beck started, "don't do this now. You're sounding jealous."

"Jealous? What the hell do I have to be jealous about? You and Vega?"

"Weren't you always?" Beck knew that Jade hated being called jealous. He would bring it up all the time while they were dating, and now he was trying to test her patience again. He knew all the right buttons to push and Jade was sick of it.

"There has never been any reason for you to be jealous Jade," Tori said in an attempt to calm her down. "Whether I was attracted to Beck or not doesn't matter because in the end it was you that I wanted. There has never been, and _will_ never be any reason for you to be jealous of me and Beck."

"Are you trying to start a fight?"Jade asked Beck. Why would you even suggest that I'm jealous?"

Beck sighed, "I'm sorry. I guess misery loves company."

"You probably won't be miserable for long seeing as so many girls at this school have been waiting for you to dump me."

Beck let out a chuckle, "I'm not into groupies."

Tori smiled and Jade smirked at him, "They're not good for relationships but they are pretty fun to toy with."

They stood in silence still smiling until Beck decided to break it. "I don't know about you two but I'm famished. I need to get some food before it's too late."

"Yeah," Jade started, "You go ahead. Try not to break any hearts on the way."

Beck smiled as he made his way out of the janitor's closet. Once the door shut behind him Tori turned back to Jade. "Are you planning on not eating? I'm starving. I don't know if I can skip lunch today."

"We were supposed to talk after class, remember?"

"Yes, but I figured since we talked with Beck we could postpone it."

"What if 'we'll talk after class' was just my way of saying, 'let's make out after class?'"

Tori smiled, "That would be fun."

"Will it sate your hunger?"

"Maybe a different kind of hunger."

Jade moved herself closer to Tori in a seductive way. Tori smirked and wrapped her arms around Jade's waist to pull her in closer. They were pressed together against a work table. Before either of them got too lost in the moment Tori spoke up, "We still have to talk about Andre."

Jade pulled back slightly, "What's there to talk about? Beck is fine with us and maybe Andre will see that."

"Yes, but he's my best friend and I can't stand that he's mad at me right now."

"Well, what do you want to do about it?"

"I want to talk to him about it. Alone."

"Okay." Jade inched closer to Tori. She was tired of talking and just wanted to taste Tori's mouth.

"I want to talk to him as soon as possible."

"That's fine with me." Jade was a breath away until Tori stalled her with her hand.

"I want to talk to him now."

"Ugh! Does it have to be _right now_?"

"I would rather have it done sooner than later."

Jade backed away from Tori and gathered her book bag as Tori retrieved her own. "It figures he would screw up an intimate moment even when he's just a thought in your mind."

Tori laughed at Jade's frustration, but pulled her in for a quick kiss before walking out of the janitor's closet. Jade followed her. _"The things I do for you, Vega," _Jade mumbled to herself before letting the door close behind her.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This is out much later than I planned and I'm so sorry about that. I had the majority of this chapter done by last Thursday but then work got in the way. Even though it rained it was still really busy this weekend. Anyway, I'm sure you're all tired of hearing my apologies about this stuff all the time so I'm going to do my best to stay on a schedule of one chapter a week.**

**Once again thank you all for the alerts, favorites, and reviews. I love hearing what everyone thinks of the story and don't be afraid to criticize me, it helps me become a better writer. You can yell at me for being late too. I can take it.**

**Until next time… xox**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I repeat, I do not own Victorious.**

Jade sat in the library waiting for Cat because apparently she had something really important to show her. The school day had went by pretty quickly and Jade looked forward to bursting through the front doors of the school as soon as the final bell rang. Then Cat came along and Jade's plans had changed. Why Jade had agreed to this was beyond her. Maybe it had something to do with the brunette that captivated her mind. Her kindness was starting to rub off on Jade. Disgusting.

Maybe disgusting was too harsh of a word. It was more unsettling than anything. Jade never felt the need to be nice to people because people already knew that she was supposed to be feared. Tori had feared her once and it didn't keep her away, look where they were. Jade wouldn't say she was changing her attitude _for_ Tori; she was just adjusting to a lifestyle with Tori.

"What are you thinking about?" Cat's sudden appearance startled Jade out of her thoughts.

"Cat! What took you so long?"

"I had to find Robbie so that he could open his locker."

"Why did you need to get into Robbie's locker?"

"I needed to get my locker combination."

"And why was it in Robbie's locker?"

"Well, if I put it in my locker how would I get it out?"

"What I meant was…never mind. What is it that you needed to show me that couldn't wait until tomorrow?"

Cat's smile widened until it seemed as if it stretched across her entire face and she giggled. "You're going to love it."

Cat took her laptop out of its case and turned it on. As Jade waited for Cat to open up whatever it is that she wanted to show her she texted Tori:

**Where r u?**

"Tada!" Cat exclaimed as she presented Jade with some type of collage on her computer. Each picture in the collage included Jade and Cat as well as other people like Beck, Andre, Robbie, and Tori; no matter who else was in the picture, there was no doubt that Jade and Cat appeared in every single one. The pictures all seemed to form a giant heart on the computer screen with a pink border surrounding it. It lay against a white background with the words: "Best Friends" flashing over it.

Jade looked over at Cat, "What is this?"

"These are all the pictures that we took together since the first time we met. We met exactly four years ago today, so it's kind of like an anniversary present." Cat giggled.

The phone in Jade's hand made a digital sound alerting her that a new text message had arrived. She looked down to see what it said.

**With Andre. I need 2 fix things. He's my bff.**

Jade sent a quick "Ok" to Tori then looked back at Cat and her collage. Jade always knew that Cat was her friend but she never realized how great their friendship was. Looking at each of the pictures she noticed that she had smiled for a few of them. They were genuine smiles. As Jade thought about how long Cat had been in her life she realized that Cat was a really great friend. The fact that Cat considered them best friends was proof of that.

Cat looked anxious as if she were waiting for Jade's response, but Jade was speechless. A few days ago, if you had asked Jade who her best friend was she would have denied having one. Now, she realized that Cat was her best friend. She looked down at the conversation on her phone again and realized that as her best friend Cat should know what is going on in Jade's life right now. It wasn't right to keep this secret from her especially since Cat has stuck by her through every obstacle at Hollywood Arts.

Jade realized she hadn't responded to Cat's gift yet when she saw Cat furrow her eyebrows.

"Don't you like it?" Cat asked.

Jade waited a beat before saying, "Actually…I love it. It's the most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me."

"Yay! Best friends forever!" Cat immediately threw her arms around Jade in a warm embrace.

"Cat, there's something I have to tell you."

Cat's smile faltered, "Is it good news or bad news?"

"I wouldn't call it news. It's not bad, it's just…I should have probably mentioned something earlier. I just…I never realized how much your friendship meant to me until now and…I feel like I've been hiding this from you for too long."

"What's the matter?"

"It's just a little hard to come out with it. I know you won't judge me but that doesn't make it any easier."

Cat suddenly became very serious and seemed more mature than ever as she looked Jade in the eyes. "Jade, you can trust me."

Jade watched Cat, amazed by this sudden change. She held her stare and took a deep breath. After a slight hesitation Jade resolved that she just needed to say it.

"Ok Cat. It kind of starts with me and Beck. You know we broke up right?"

"Yes."

"Well, I just we didn't _click_ anymore. Does that make sense?"

"Yes it does."

"There was someone else I started to _click_ with instead."

"I'm not following."

"Cat I…I fell for someone else."

"What? Who? Are you with this someone else?"

"That's the hard part. We aren't exclusively together, but we have been sneaking around to see each other every chance we get. We just didn't want to come out as a couple so soon after my break-up with Beck."

"Who is it? Does Beck know?"

"Yes, Beck knows and while it was a little hard to deal with at first, he's okay with it now."

"So are the two of you on good terms."

"Kind of. The wounds are still too fresh."

"Jade?"

"Yeah."

"You never answered my question."

"I thought you wanted to skip it."

"I'm not a moron."

Jade took a deep breath. "You can't judge me okay."

"Okay."

After a slight hesitation Jade put her hands over her eyes and said, "It's Tori."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Oh no! Another cliff hanger. Please forgive me for that. This chapter actually came out of nowhere. I was just thinking about how Andre is Tori's best friend and how Cat seems like Jade's closest friend. **_**{Crazy Ponnie SPOILER ALERT} **_**I mean really, why else would she let Cat near her eyebrows. **

****Thanks again for all of the alerts, favorites, and reviews. We made it to 100 reviews! How amazing is that? Thank you all so much, this is a big accomplishment for me. When this story ends I will be sad to see it go since it has been my most popular story on fanfiction. I'm having a blast writing it and I love the feedback I get about it, especially the ones that make me laugh.****

**Thanks again for getting me to 100 reviews. I appreciate you guys so much. I want to do some honorable mentions. I have to thank my first reviewer ever for this story which is **_**(Drumroll)**_** LizGillies! Next I will mention the top three reviewers; these three people had the most reviews.**

**In third place: Jay aka Jordan with 10 reviews. In second place: Ameha Kay with 12 reviews. And in first place, the one, the only: G1GGL3Z1597 with 13 reviews! Thank you so much guys!**

**Yes, I did go back and tally up every single review. That's dedication. I really wanted to do something special for 100 reviews. Now I'm tired. 32 reviewers and 101 reviews later. *_***

**Until next time…**

**P.S. I'm sorry it's shorter than usual, I'm doing my best to get updates out weekly so...yeah...**


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious.**

Jade waited for Cat to respond allowing her admission to sink in. The bubbly girl seemed to be more confused than anything. Cat's mouth opened and closed a few times before she finally said anything.

"So you and Tori are friends now?"

Jade furrowed her eyebrows, "We are kind of beyond that now."

"But you guys _are_ getting along?"

"Yes we're- Cat I'm telling you that Tori and I are _together_. Meaning she and I get along _very_ well and are _very_ friendly. Do you understand?"

Jade thought that Cat still looked confused as she nodded. Then again, Cat always looked confused. Jade was getting frustrated so she decided to simplify what she was saying for Cat's benefit. "Look Cat, it's not official yet but eventually Tori will be my _girlfriend_."

"Wait, but you're a girl."

"Yes, I'm glad you noticed."

"And she's a girl."

"Obviously..."

"So how can she be your girlfriend unless…" Cat gasped, "You're a lesbian? But what about Beck?"

"What do you mean? You know Beck and I are over."

"Yes but how can you be a lesbian if you dated Beck." Cat lowered her voice and whispered, "He's a boy," as if it was secret.

"Of course he's a boy. I'm not exactly a lesbian, I'm bisexual. I like boys, like Beck and girls, like Tori." Jade waited a beat before adding, "Technically Tori's the first girl though."

"Wait so Tori's a lesbian?"

Jade rolled her eyes in frustration at Cat's naivety. "I think it's pretty obvious after what I just explained to you."

"What's obvious?" another voice asked from behind Jade.

Jade turned around to see Tori and Andre were in the library now. Her body relaxed a little bit as she felt the stressful conversation with Cat ease out of her mind. "I was just explaining everything to Cat. I mean she's pretty much my best friend, so I figured I should tell her too."

Jade noticed that Tori tensed up after hearing this. She didn't know whether it was because she told someone else or because it was Cat. Before Jade could comment Cat spoke first, "I always knew you two would be awesome friends but I never imagined this. I mean in my mind you both were still into guys."

"Cat!" Jade almost shouted. "We're still into guys as much as we're into girls, but we're into each other right now. All I want to know is if you understand what I'm telling you."

In the classic "good cop/bad cop" fashion Tori decided to add, "Cat we don't want you to think of us any differently. We're still the same girls we were before all of this we just found a special bond between us."

"That's not cheesy at all," Jade said sarcastically.

Tori shot her a glare before continuing, "So are you okay with everything you just heard? Are you still confused? What's going through your mind right now?"

Cat hesitated, "Well right now…in my mind, I'm trying to remember all the questions you're asking me. I understand what your telling me, but I don't understand how it happened and I probably never will. And…what was the other question?"

"Are you okay with what's going on between Jade and Tori?" Andre spoke up for the first time since he entered the library. Jade couldn't tell if he was still mad about the whole situation but he didn't seem to have the bite of hostility in his voice anymore.

"Oh! Of course I'm okay with it," Cat answered. "It's not affecting my life. I love love."

"That's great Cat, but no one said anything about love." Out of the corner of her eye Jade thought she saw Tori wince at her words. She looked over at her but any sign of hurt or disappointment was gone.

"Well Jade," Andre started catching Jade's attention. "I'm here because Tori talked to me and I wanted you to know that I am okay with what's going on. I support Tori because she's my best friend but so is Beck which is why I was so angry. I was really confused on how I should feel about everything."

"You wanted to be happy for Tori but you were hurting for Beck," Jade spoke as if she was reading Andre's mind.

"Exactly. It's always hard to choose sides amongst your friends but when it's two people that are so close to you, it's seems nearly impossible."

"Since I'm _always_ on my side I guess I couldn't see that. It's a good thing you have Tori to figure out your problems then."

Andre rolled his eyes at Jade's typical answer. "So are we cool now." Andre stuck out his hand to offer Jade a handshake as if it was some kind of truce.

Jade looked down at his hand then back up to his face. "Yeah. We're cool." She grabbed his hand to shake it. Before she realized what was happening Andre tugged on her hand causing her to stumble forward into a friendly embrace.

"I don't care what you say," he started, "but we're friends. And friends don't just shake hands when they settle an argument."

He let her go after a couple of seconds but the effect had lasted. Jade almost looked horrified when she first stumbled into his arms but now she had small smile on her face as she looked at Andre. She let her eyes wander to Cat then Tori and she noted both girls were smiling as well. She couldn't help but laugh at the situation. Moments ago the air in the room seemed thick with tension but now the tension ceased and Jade felt like a weight had been lifted. Her laughter had a domino effect as Tori, Andre, and Cat began to laugh as well.

"So about this whole bisexual thing," Andre started.

"Don't push your luck _friend_," Jade said in a serious tone but a smile followed soon after.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I am soooooooooo sorry! I know, I know most of you want to kill me right now but please don't. If you do you'll never know what happens next. Right? So put away the torches and pitch forks and please forgive me.**

**I have been in a state of writers block this passed week because my mind has been on a bunch of other things. My car was acting up then finally died on me so I had to figure out that situation. Of course you don't need to know about all my problems but I just wanted you all to know I didn't forget about you. **

**This chapter was a little bit short but I really wanted to get it to you as soon as possible so you wouldn't kill me. Once again I am so sorry and I promise I won't take two weeks to update next time.**

**Thanks again for all the alerts, favorites, and reviews. You guys are really awesome. Until next time…**


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious.**

Jade sat in her bed staring at her assignment as if it would finish itself. In the midst of a severe case of writer's block she still had to finish her short story for her creative writing class. The problem was that she couldn't focus on anything except her phone. Tori had to stay after school to do some kind of school project so she couldn't meet Jade after school. Jade had been waiting for a call or text from Tori ever since she got home but her phone had yet to light up with any notifications other than email alerts and TheSlap updates.

The page in front of her only had two sentences on it so she read them over and over again trying to figure out the plot of her story. A few ideas ran through her mind but none to them were good enough. _Damn it Tori. Where are you?_ she thought. She was ready to call her when her the chorus of one of her favorite songs began to play. Jade grabbed the phone and made sure the incoming call was from Tori, before answering.

"That took awhile," she commented in place of the normal greeting.

"I know, I know. But we had a lot of stuff to do. We shouldn't have put it off to the last minute but we got it done anyway."

"Congratulations, but I'm bored out of my mind. Why don't you come over and keep me company?"

"I don't know…I still have a bunch of homework to finish and something tells me I'm not going to get it done at your place," Tori added suspiciously.

"Well, of course you won't. You have better things to do than homework."

"Whether or not they're better doesn't matter. If I want to get a decent grade I have to turn in my work promptly."

"You're such a buzzkill. What are you doing this weekend?"

"Not sure. I think I'm free. Why?"

"Well maybe we can go out or something."

"What," Tori started, "like a date?"

"I guess. If you must call it that," Jade said in a nonchalant tone.

"Do you realize you and I have not gone on an actual, official, legit date yet?"

"Congratulations you can read a thesaurus…or a dictionary. And yes I did realize that."

"Aww…is that why you're asking me out?"

"I'm asking you out because I don't want to be bored this weekend."

"Okay," Tori stated unconvinced, "Whatever you say."

"Thank you."

"But since this _is_ our first date it should be really special, maybe we can go somewhere nice."

"I don't think some "fancy pants" restaurant is in my personal budget right now."

"That's not what I meant. I mean we should go somewhere we can sit down and have our meals brought to us on a plate and not in a paper bag."

"Okay, so no fast food. Got it. Why didn't you just say that?"

"I'm trying to lead you in the right direction without actually taking the lead."

"Oh yeah, because that makes perfect sense," Jade said in a tone dripping with sarcasm.

"Oh come on Jade, you suggested it so I don't want to step all over your plans."

"Then why are you suggesting anything in the first place?"

"I just want our first date to be a little bit romantic. Is that so much to ask?"

"Romantic? Really Tori?"

"What? Did you think I wasn't going to want any romance? Just because our relationship has been full of lust thus far doesn't mean I don't expect any romance at all."

Jade didn't know what to say to that. She had never been in a relationship in which she had to work so hard to please the other person. Of course she liked romance every once in awhile. What girl didn't? But she had never been in a same sex relationship before so she didn't know how to handle any romance.

"Look Tori, all this talk about romance and stuff is making my head swim. Let's just go on a date, a _first_ date and…whatever happens…happens. We've been okay so far. We just…shouldn't force anything."

After a short pause Tori finally answered. "You're right. Besides, we all know I'm ten times more romantic than you anyway."

"Are you trying to challenge me?"

"Do you think you're worthy of a challenge?"

Jade laughed, "Don't test me Tori."

"Hey I'm just stating facts. Anyway, when is this date going to happen?"

"How about Saturday?"

"That's fine with me."

"Good. It's a date then." Jade smiled even though she knew Tori couldn't see her.

"Yeah. Listen, I have to go so I can actually be productive tonight. I'll talk to you later though."

"Okay bye."

"Bye muffin."

"Ewww! Muffin? Really Tori? I hate pet names."

"Well, I'm sorry but I tend to like them."

"This is an argument you're not going to win."

"Oh, we'll see about that."

"Bye Jade."

"Bye Tori."

* * *

><p>The rest of the week went by in a blur of boring classes and trysts in the Janitor's closet. By the time Saturday came around Jade was relieved to finally be free of the confines of Hollywood Arts. It may have been the coolest high school in California but it was still a high school.<p>

If Jade was going to be honest with herself she was actually a little bit excited to see Tori today. She hadn't been on a real date in awhile so she had been anticipating it all day. She had even made an extra effort to look good today, not that she needed it. When she arrived at the restaurant she was not surprised to find Tori already at a table. She bypassed the hostess and walked right up to Tori.

Tori looked up in time to see Jade slide into the booth. "Hello shnookums."

"At least we're off the food names, but I'm definitely not answering to _shnookums_."

"Oh, why not love."

"And I'm definitely not answering to love. You're not British so it doesn't make sense."

"Hi my name is Pam and I'll be your server today. Are you two ready to order?" The waitress interrupted their little tiff. The girls ordered their food and drinks and waited for the young woman to leave before getting right back into their small argument.

"It's not just a British thing," Tori said. "People in spanish speaking countries call their boyfriends or girlfriends _amor_," she put extra emphasis on rolling the 'r' at the end, "which does sound sexier."

"Don't you dare."

"What? Do you have a problem with the 'L' word? Or in this case the 'A' word?"

"I have no problem with it, I just think it's overused which makes it kind of stupid."

"It's not stupid. Haven't you ever said 'I love you' to someone?"

"Of course I have, but I actually meant it. Why would I say it to anyone if I did it mean it? That would be lying and I hate lying."

"It's not like I'm saying 'I love you' Jade. It's a term of endearment if anything. But I'm sorry, if the word 'love' coming from my mouth freaks you out so much I won't say it." Jade could see that Tori was angered and frustrated, but a completely different emotion passed through her eyes. It was so brief that Jade wasn't quite sure what it was. Could it have been hurt?

"Tori I have no problem with you saying that…word…I just hate pet names. And I hate foreign pet names even more. I hate a lot of foreign things actually. I hate French toast, Swiss cheese, Spanish olives-"

"Jade!" Tori cut her off pulling Jade from her own thoughts. "I know you hate a lot of things, there's no need to list them all here."

"Yeah, probably not."

"Besides we're on a date, right?"

"That we are."

"So let's just enjoy ourselves."

"Okay."

As if on cue the waitress came back with their meals and the two girls changed topics instantly. As Tori talked animatedly about a new song Andre was writing specifically for her to sing, Jade watched her intently. She never noticed how much Tori showed her emotions on her face. Whether it was the slightest twitch or a furrowed brow, Tori gave away everything she was feeling. Jade couldn't help but think it was cute how she didn't realize she was so easy to read.

Before they knew it they had both finished their meals and the check had arrived promptly. As they got up to leave Tori reached out for Jade's hand and heat instantly shot from her hand to the rest of Jade's body. It was as if someone had lit a fire inside her soul. Tori shot Jade a questioning look.

Jade realized that she hadn't moved and that she had been staring at their joined hands. It wasn't as if Tori had never held her hand before, but it felt different now. It was as if they had taken a turn in their relationship and their bodies knew it too.

"Sorry I just…" _Just what?_ Jade thought. Inside she was freaking out but she didn't want Tori to know that. So many emotions were going through her mind right now. She was happy but she was terrified, she was relieved but she was stressing out, she was nervous but she was ecstatic. Overall however the one feeling she was sure was beating out the rest was a warming sensation in her heart. "I just remembered that I told Cat I was going to call her."

Tori let her hand slip away from Jade's and Jade instantly felt the loss. Tori's brow quirked in question, "For what? Is it something so important it can't wait until you walk me home?"

"Well you know Cat," she lied. Jade hated lying especially to someone like Tori.

"Oh." Tori looked deflated. "Okay then. I guess I'll see you on Monday."

"Yeah, totally." Jade said as the nerves took over once again.

"Or maybe I'll call you later. You know, wish you a goodnight."

Tori looked so vulnerable that Jade wanted nothing more than to reach out and hug her, but a vulnerable Tori was a dangerous Tori that caused weird feelings to coarse through one's body. No. Jade couldn't hug Tori right now. She was already too confused, and she didn't need Tori to make things more complicated.

"Yeah. I'll talk to you later okay? See ya." With that Jade walked away from Tori and pulled out her phone as if she were about to make a phone call. Jade looked back one more time and watched Tori's retreating back as she began to walk home alone.

_What the hell is my problem?_ Jade wanted to run after her. Her heart was beating so fast, willing her to go for it. _Go after her._ At the same time however, her mind was telling her she should stay where she was. _Leave her be, she'll understand._ Jade always listened to her head and it hadn't steered her in the wrong direction yet.

"She'll be fine," she told herself. "She's a big girl." She said the words, but Jade did not believe one of them.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I started this chapter a few days ago when I was in a better mood so maybe you can tell the difference between the different parts in the chapter. I did my best to express what Jade was feeling but I put a lot of focus on dialogue. Either way I hope you liked it.**

**Thanks again for all the alerts, favorites and reviews. I really appreciate them. And a big welcome to all the newcomers. There were a lot of them this time around. **

**Until next time…**

**P.S. What's with all the changes to this site? I don't know if I should sign in with twitter, tumblr, or just the regular way. So many choices so little head space. lol ;**


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious.**

Monday. Jade hated Mondays. If she could skip one day of the week it would be Monday. The day that marked the beginning of misery.

Miserable Mondays.

Jade lay awake in bed knowing that she would have to get up soon for school. That was the last thing she wanted to do. She hadn't talked to Tori all weekend and she knew that Tori was going to be pissed. Tori had left her three voicemails and five text messages since their Saturday date, and Jade had not replied back. Jade knew that Tori would be feeling neglected and hurt, but she couldn't build up the courage to talk to her. Why? She didn't know.

_Of course you know why?_ That little voice in Jade's had once again cut through her thoughts.

_You're afraid._ Of course she was afraid, she didn't need some little voice to tell her that. It wasn't like she was afraid of Tori though. Far from it. However, she was afraid of the guilt she felt by not talking to Tori all weekend. Jade wasn't sure why she hadn't answered her text messages or phone calls and she knew Tori would expect an answer.

_You're afraid of what you feel._ What? Jade West was not afraid of feelings. Just because she wasn't an emotional person didn't mean she feared emotions.

_Denial._ Jade didn't feel like enduring a geography lesson from the voice in her head so she got out of bed. She got ready for school and ignored her distracting mind. It wouldn't stop. The voice seemed to grow louder as she tried to block it out with other sounds around her.

When she got to her car she had had enough. She turned her car stereo to its maximum volume then hit play on the cd player. The song that erupted from the speakers made her slap the steering wheel in frustration. No matter where she went Tori would follow her everywhere. "Freak the Freak Out" was blasting through Jade's speakers. It wasn't Tori's voice but the memory of Tori's performance would never leave her mind.

She decided to let the song play. She was going to have to see Tori sooner or later, why not envision her on the way there. Jade could see every hip thrust and arm flail as clearly as if it were happening right in front of her. Tori looked really good that day.

_She's captivating._ Shut up! Jade hit the stop button on the player ending the song abruptly, instead opting to drive to school in silence. Total silence. Except for that niggling feeling in the back of her mind.

She'd be fine.

Today would be a good day.

* * *

><p>"Jade!" Tori found Jade at her locker only a few minutes after Jade had set foot into the school. "What the hell, Jade?" She was furious. "You don't answer your phone all weekend and you can't even send me a quick text to let me know you're still alive!" Jade watched Tori's eyebrows furrow then shift back. She went back and forth between worry and anger. "But you had plenty of time to update TheSlap didn't you?"<p>

"Wow, somebody's cranky." Jade knew Tori had every right to be mad but that didn't mean she had to get sucked into an argument.

"Cranky? You ignored me all weekend Jade!"

"No I didn't. We went out on Saturday." Jade kept her voice calm because Tori's anger was drawing an audience.

"Yes, we went out on Saturday, then for some reason you got all weird on me and left. You didn't _call_ me, you didn't _text_ me, you just left me wondering what the hell I did wrong."

People were staring at them. Jade glared at a few people but brought her attention back to Tori. "Maybe we should talk about this somewhere in private."

"No Jade! You know what, no! I'm sick and tired of hiding and sneaking around."

"Tori don't," Jade cautioned.

"Jade I have no idea what to think. You…confuse me, and I can't take it anymore."

Jade saw Cat at the end of the hall with Robbie. She looked in the other direction and saw Beck and Andre round the corner.

Tori continued her speech. "I'm tired of waiting around for you Jade. I keep thinking, _she just needs some time. She'll come around._ But it's all a lie because you have no idea what you want!"

Jade looked to Beck and Andre who were making there way to Tori. "Tori, I think you're overreacting."

Tori looked hurt. "Oh yeah, _I'm_ overreacting. What was it that scared you Jade? Was it that horrible word that I dared to utter in your presence?" Andre and Beck had reached Tori by then. Andre whispered something in her ear and Tori looked around as if she just noticed the crowd of people that had been watching her an Jade. She looked back at Jade and the implications in her stare made Jade's heart ache. "Maybe I am overreacting, but at least I have the guts to be upfront with you about everything."

Jade just rolled her eyes so Tori went on. "Listen Jade. I'm not going to do this. I don't like being led on. It's happened too many time and I'm sick of it." Tori's eyes began to glisten with unshed tears. "I'm not made of plastic. I have a beating heart inside me so I have the ability to feel the pain of it being broken. I may already be too far gone but I don't want to go any further without the reassurance that you won't hurt me."

Jade stared at Tori for a long time. Tori's emotions seemed to flow out of her and into Jade. Jade could feel the sensation of something shifting in her chest. It was as if the broken dam that spread warmth through her heart was being repaired. She could almost feel cold steel in her chest. She saw the vulnerability in Tori and thought about what she was implying. "That's impossible," she said.

Tori looked confused. "What?"

"It's impossible for me to tell you I won't hurt you, because it's not true."

For a long time Tori just stood there. She seemed shocked at Jade's response and Jade felt her chest tighten up at the emotions she saw on Tori's face. So many emotions passed over her features in that instant but Jade could not pinpoint which one affected her the most. She had to say something. Jade had to make the situation right. Before she could open her mouth to say anything however, Tori turned on her heel and sprinted down the hallway.

Jade watched her retreating form as it rounded a corner. She knew where she was going but she couldn't move. She was rooted to the floor in front of her locker. She looked around herself at the dissipating crowd and caught Cat's eye just before Cat turned to walk in the same direction Tori had gone. Was that disappointment in the red head's eyes? She looked back at Beck and Andre and saw anger and disapproval reflected in their eyes. "Beck…," she started.

"Don't. Just…don't," with that Beck turned and walked away with Andre only a step behind him.

Jade had never felt more alone.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Woah. I did not like writing this chapter at all but it had to be done. I kept putting it off until I finally watched a couple of Jori vids just to get me to sit down and start it. Unlike the Jori vids, this is not a happy chapter and it made me very emotional just writing it. **

**I am so sorry I had to do this. I mean of course I didn't **_**have**_** to, but then again…I did. Please don't hate me. This scene has been in my head for weeks so I hope you liked it.**

**Thanks again for all the alerts, favorites, and reviews. The support I have received from this story is mind boggling. Thank you all so much for making me feel good about myself. :)**

**Until next time..**


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious.**

Sikowitz' class was filled with tension. Of course the wacky teacher didn't realize it as he proceeded to demonstrate today's lesson with one of the students. At least he had chosen a "shrugger" today. Jade did her best to pay attention but her eyes kept wandering over to Tori who was sitting on the opposite side of the room with Andre. She had obviously been crying a lot; her eyes seemed to sink into her face and she had cleaned all the makeup from her face. Guilt speared through Jade at the sight of the broken girl.

After the scene in the hallway Jade was sure that the whole school knew about her and Tori. How could they not? Tori had all but exposed them even if she didn't directly say that they were together. She had dropped enough hints for everyone to put two and two together. At first it angered Jade because everyone stared at her after the fight, but relief washed over her immediately. It was out there in the public and she didn't die. Jade thought that people would have a more negative reaction, throwing insults and derogatory terms her way.

People didn't seem to mind the fact that Jade West was bisexual. The whispers heard in the hallway were not about how disgusting she was, or how Beck must feel about this. Instead the whispers were about how much of a bitch she was for hurting Beck _and_ Tori. She was becoming notorious for her heartbreaking skills.

Jade pulled her eyes away from everyone else and looked at the girl sitting next to her. Cat had come up to Jade after she had gone off to console Tori. She explained that she found Tori but she wanted to be left alone.

"Jade I don't know what's going on," Cat said in confusion. "Just last week you were finally admitting to me that you guys were together. You seemed happy. And now this?"

Jade looked around before answering, "I don't know Cat. Everything was fine, I just…blew it."

"How? What happened?"

"I don't know okay. We went on a date or something and I guess…I don't know…."

"Tori said something about you not caring about the relationship, but I know you Jade. You cared a lot about Tori, I could tell."

"None of that matters does it."

"No. Jade you can't just give up on this. You looked so happy after you told me about you and Tori…or you know…after all the confusion about it. I mean I saw this…I don't know…it was like just this happy bubble that like consumed you for a minute."

"Cat that doesn't even make sense."

"It does to me. Jade you care a lot about Tori. Why are you pushing her away?"

"I cared a lot about Beck at one time too. Do you think I also pushed him away?" Jade was getting frustrated with Cat's inquiry.

"You and Beck fell out of love. I didn't want to believe it but it was obvious that you two were on the rocks."

"Well maybe my relationship with Tori wasn't what we thought it was going to be. Maybe it was a fling…or…or a curiosity we needed to get out of our systems." Jade threw her hands into the air, "Maybe I don't even like girls. I was just curious."

"No your right, Jade. You _were_ curious about girls. I think that probably happens to a lot of people, the difference is that you don't like _girls_," Cat put an emphasis on the 's', "you like one girl, Tori Vega."

"Cat I-"

"Think about it Jade." Cat began to walk away but turned back again, "You should ask yourself what you're so afraid of?" With that she walked away leaving Jade to her thoughts.

Now in Sikowitz' class Jade was still stuck thinking about Cat's words. _What am I so afraid of?_ _Why was I avoiding Tori?_ Jade had spent the last hour pondering the same two questions. She was happy that while everyone else seemed to be siding with Tori, Cat stuck by her side. Technically Cat wasn't completely on her side but she was being very supportive.

The bell signaling the end of class ran and the students dispersed into the hallway. Jade picked up her bag and headed for the door making it at the same time as someone else and nearly running them over.

"Oh sor-"

Jade looked up at the voice and locked eyes with Tori for a brief moment. "Tori," she started to say. She didn't get a chance to finish because Tori hurried out the door before Jade could even think of something more to say. What had she planned on saying anyway? _I'm sorry about not calling all weekend. Let's go make out in the Janitor's closet._ Jade sighed in frustration as she made her way out the door.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: We made it to Chapter 20! Yay! So this chapter was a page shorter than I usually do but it's for a reason. I just found out that Jori week is next week so I've been working on prompts for all of next week. Since I just found out about it a day after I posted the last chapter, I didn't get to tell all of you that I would be participating this year. To add on to that I'm going away for the weekend so I won't be getting any writing done at all. With that being said the next chapter is going to be held off until the end of Jori week.**

**I know, I know this sucks and I apologize but if you guys want to you can read my prompts for Jori week in the mean time to get your fill. Let's see if I can do a decent one-shot without so much drama. It might be heard because I love drama. So I hope you guys don't mind this very, very short break from this story but of all of my fantoms this is my first time participating in any 'ship week' and I'm really excited for it.**

**Thank you so much for all the alert, favorites, and reviews. They mean so much to me. I hope I don't lose any followers because of this but if I do it's okay.**

**Until next time…**

**P.S. Jori week takes place from July 22nd to July 28th. For the list of prompts go to the Jori week tumblr account, I'll post it on my profile. If you want to participate all the information about it is there. I can't wait!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious.**

Jade sat inside her car in the parking lot outside of Hollywood Arts. She glared at each person that went by that wasn't her. Tori had opted out of lunch and had been avoiding Jade all day. It didn't help that her so-called "friends" wouldn't tell her where Tori was. It was as if she suddenly didn't exist.

"What if she left already?" Cat asked from the passenger seat.

Cat was the only person that was willing to help Jade talk to Tori. She had argued that it might be too soon and that Jade should give Tori some space. Jade won out in the end. She always had a way of swaying Cat to follow her ideas.

"She didn't leave. I would have seen her. I left class early to be sure of it."

"Well, maybe she's staying after school."

"She has no reason to. She doesn't have detention and she doesn't do any activities outside of theater."

"Maybe she's hiding."

"Yes Cat," Jade snapped. "I think it's pretty obvious that she's hiding from me."

"I was just trying to help," Cat said apologetically.

Jade sighed, "I know. I'm sorry. It's just…I'm so frustrated. I know she's in there and she probably knows I'm here waiting for her. I just…I need to talk to her. I can't let it all end this way."

"Why let it end at all?"

Jade looked at the redhead in confusion. "What do you mean? If I can't give Tori what she wants, why would she want to be with me?"

"Jade do you even know what she wants?"

"Of course I do. She wants love. She wants all that sappy shit."

"Well I don't know about that. I think all she really wants is you."

"How can she want me if I can't give her all that romance crap?"

"That's just it Jade. You know you can. I can't tell you what you feel, only you can do that, but I know you feel something for Tori. It's something more than lust."

"How would you know that?" Jade asked skeptically.

"Because you feel so much guilt for hurting Tori. Because you attempted to reach out to Tori. And because you're here. Now. Waiting for Tori even though you know she will keep you waiting until one of you gives up. That is how I know what you feel is more than some stupid curiosity or lust."

"You're a real nutcase, you know that." Cat looked shocked and a little bit offended. "You're a nutcase but you've got a point," Jade quickly added.

"I don't know if I should still be offended or not."

"Take it as a compliment," Jade said as she reached for the keys in her ignition.

"Are we giving up?" Cat asked.

"For now," Jade replied as a smile crawled across her face. "It's probably better to do this at her house."

"But Jade maybe you should give her sometime."

"Oh I will. One night should be enough time."

"Jade…"

"I'm just going to have to buy two coffees tomorrow morning."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So after waiting so long I gave you a really, really, really short chapter. I promise you the next chapter will be out much sooner though. I've already started it. It was originally going to be part of this chapter but it flows better on its own. I'm aiming for Monday.**

**I'm really sorry for making you wait, but Jade is starting to see things more clearly. We are getting close now….**

**Thank you for all of the alerts, favorites, and reviews. I appreciate all the support so much. Also thank you for the support on my entries for Jori Week. I loved the feedback I got on those. If you haven't read them and would like to you can find them all in my profile. While you're there you can find the links to my twitter and tumblr accounts. You should follow me…if you want.**

**Until next time….**


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious.**

Jade watched as Tori said goodbye to her mother at her front door. She felt like a detective on a stake out. In fact, Tori's neighbors were probably starting to get a little bit suspicious. She had been sitting outside of Tori's house for an hour now; it was bound to creep anybody out, especially in such a nice neighborhood.

Tori finally shut the door behind her and descended down the driveway. Jade waited until she was too far from her doorway to turn around. She drove forward while Tori was looking down at her cell phone. When Tori looked up Jade had already pushed the passenger side door open and was making her way across the front seat.

"Jade no," Tori said as she began to back away from the car.

Jade reached out and grabbed her hand before she could turn and run. She pulled Tori forward and into the car. Tori attempted to push away but Jade grabbed for the door and quickly pulled it closed before locking it and pushing herself back into the driver's seat.

"Jade let me out," Tori scolded as she unlocked the car. Jade quickly locked it again from her side and put the car in drive.

As she took off, Jade looked at Tori and said, "We need to talk."

"I think we've done enough talking. Let me out. Now!" Tori moved to unlock her door again, but Jade held down the lock button on her side of the car.

"Just hear me out Tori," she pleaded in frustration.

"What Jade? Do you want to tell me we shouldn't let all of this affect our friendship? I think we're well passed that."

"We were never friends!" Jade shouted.

Tori looked at her in shock, her mouth agape. "Well I guess that means nothing will have changed. I think this conversation is over."

"No!" Jade took a calming breath before repeating, "No. We're not done. At least I'm not."

She took another breath and stopped the car. She watched Tori look around in confusion before realizing that they had made it to the school. Jade then turned towards Tori and continued.

"Tori we were never friends because for the majority of the time I've known you I've been blinded by jealousy. Then that jealousy turned to curiosity. I thought that that's all this relationship was but I was wrong, and it took a ditzy redhead to make me realize that."

Tori looked taken aback. Jade was confused as to why a statement like that would hurt Tori. Then she realized what her words may have sounded like. "I'm not with Cat, I just talked to her about us. Well…she kind of butted into our business but it's the same thing. Besides, Cat's straight as an arrow."

"Yeah I guess it was kind of stupid to assume anything."

"Yeah, but let's not get off topic. That's one of the good things about us though; no matter what we don't run out of conversation, especially you. You're one of the biggest chatterboxes I know."

"You're point is," Tori interrupted in defense.

"I'm sorry. I thought I had this speech well thought out but I'm really not that great with feelings." She paused and Tori waited for her to continue with an intense look in her eyes. "I…I just…I've never been good with feelings you know. I mean life's filled with disappointments. Look what happened with me an Beck. I thought I was in love with him-like really, really in love with him-and just look at how that turned out.

"Tori I honestly don't know what I feel for you but the moment I started to feel it at all I panicked. I didn't want a repeat of what happened with Beck to happen with you. I thought if I cut out early I could avoid all the heartbreak and awkward conversation but instead I hurt someone I really care about."

Jade waited for Tori to say something. She watched as Tori thought about her words. They sat in silence for a long time before Tori finally spoke. "Jade, I understand completely. I can see how you might be afraid to fall in love or even care about someone. Life's about taking chances though, and if you're willing to put your fears aside I think we might have something great here.

"I need to be sure though, that no matter how 'real' this whole relationship gets you won't chicken our and run away. I know you might not be ready to hear this but it hurt me so much when I thought you just didn't want to be with me because…well because I think I may be fal-"

A hard knock on the passenger side window made Tori squeal in surprise. Jade quickly looked up to see Andre at her window. Andre motioned for Tori to roll down her window and before Jade could protest, she complied.

"Are you okay Tori?" Andre asked in concern. "Trina said she saw you get pulled into a car outside your house."

"I'm fine Andre," Tori assured him. "Jade and I just needed to talk. Trust me, everything's fine."

"Yeah," Jade had to add. "So could you get lost."

"Jade," Tori warned. She turned back to Andre, "Look, I'll be inside in a minute. I'll be fine, I promise."

Andre looked towards Jade one more time and she scowled back at him. "Okay, but text me if…you know…if you need anything."

"Okay mom," Tori teased.

Andre smiled and said, "I'm just looking out for you."

"And I appreciate it very much," Tori responded. Andre gave her a wink before walking away.

Tori turned back to Jade. "Why would you do that?"

"Do what? He interrupted us, which he seems to do a lot by the way."

"That doesn't mean that you need to be rude to him."

"I'm sorry okay. That's my initial reaction. I can't help it."

"Well you should try. He's my best friend, so he obviously means well."

"Does that mean he has to interrupt us every time we're alone together?"

Tori laughed, "He does have a tendency to visit me at the most inopportune times. Technically it was Trina's fault this time, though."

"Yeah, I guess. Anywho…back to what we were talking about."

"Yeah…about that…maybe we should talk about this later."

"Come on Tori. Don't shut down on me now Tori. I need to know where we stand."

Tori shifted nervously, "Well I definitely want to be with you, but I want to make sure you are in this for real this time. I'm serious, I told my parents."

"You told them? Told them what?"

"Well obviously Trina found out about our fight so she asked me about it. My mom was there so I told them about our relationship."

"How'd they react?"

"They were…very supportive actually. It went really well."

"Tori, I'm so sorry for causing any doubt. I should have been there. I should have-"

"It's alright Jade. It was better that I did it on my own, I know how to handle my mom."

"Well I wish I could have been there to see Trina's face at least. All those _study sessions_ and the _projects_. Oh, to see the look on her face. Was it priceless?"

"I wish I could have taken a picture," Tori laughed.

Jade's laughter died down as she remembered Andre's interruption. Tori had been about to say something and Jade was sure that it was very important. _"I know you might not be ready to hear this but it hurt me so much when I thought you just didn't want to be with me because…well because I think I may be fal-" _

"Tori, you were saying something before Andre interrupted us. Something about how much it hurt when you thought I didn't want you. You said there was something I might not be ready to hear."

"Wow, you have a great memory."

"You're avoiding the question. What is it you wanted to tell me? I promise I won't run." Jade smiled and grabbed Tori's hand.

Tori sighed, "It's that I….I just…." Jade's pulse began to speed up as she waited for Tori to reveal what it was that she had been trying to tell her. "You know this whole thing started because I had a crush on you, but it's more than a crush now. It's a full blown relationship."

"Yeah." Jade was nervous because Tori looked nervous.

"It was always more than a crush and I…"

Jade watched as Tori's gaze flickered to their joined hands. She was attempting to gain courage for what she was about to say. Her eyes shot back up to Jade's and she held them there. Deep pools of brown meeting bright green.

"I think I'm falling in love with you."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Cliffhanger! Don't hate me. At least I updated promptly this time lol. I hope this made up for the last chapter being so short; and I really hoped you enjoyed this chapter. So many emotions were running through my head as I wrote it. How do you think Jade will react?**

**Thanks for all of the alerts, favorites, and reviews. I feel the love coming off every email alert I get. Thanks so much!**

**Until next time...**


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious.**

Jade went to her locker to store her books and gather everything she would need for her homework. She pushed everything she needed into her book bag then slammed her locker door shut. As she walked toward the school's exit she let her eyes roam the hallway for Tori. Jade had been avoiding Tori for most of the day. She just couldn't face her after this morning. Tori's honesty wasn't keeping her away, it was the embarrassment.

* * *

><p><strong>*Earlier*<strong>

_"I think I'm falling in love with you."_

_Jade just stared at the girl in front of her. She had just come clean about how terrified she was of what was developing between them, but that didn't stop Tori from being completely honest with her. Jade had to commend her on her bravery; for someone as vulnerable as Tori it had to take a lot of courage to admit that. _

_So many thoughts began to race through Jade's mind at once. She was terrified of what this girl made her feel, she was afraid of what the future would hold for them, and she was relieved that she wasn't the only one that felt so strongly about this relationship. Most of all however, Jade was ecstatic. Tori was falling in love with her! It gave her the greatest feeling in the world and she wanted to tell her how happy it made her. Jade wanted to show Tori how great this revelation made her feel. _

_Jade saw the expectant look in Tori's eyes and figured she should respond in some way._

_"That's amazing," she simply stated. _

_Tori's eyes clouded with emotion before her phone rang. She looked down to identify the caller before answering, "Hey Andre…Yeah, I'm fine. I'm coming in now…" _

_Tori looked over at Jade and mouthed, "See you later," before letting herself out of the car and rushing into the school._

_Jade simply stared after her in confusion. _What just happened? _She replayed the moment in her mind. Tori's admission and how happy and terrified she felt hearing it. All of those emotions she wanted to share with Tori so she responded to her with, _"That's amazing."

_That's it._

_That's all she had said._

_Of course Tori would have run away from her. Even if she had a legitimate excuse to leave she had still been trying to get out of that situation. She had just poured her heart out to Jade and all Jade could respond with was _"That's amazing." _It made Jade feel pathetic._

* * *

><p>Jade felt horrible for the rest of the day. She knew she needed to talk to Tori but she couldn't face her. How could she make this better? Would Tori even forgive her?<p>

Jade felt like the biggest idiot on the planet. Tori was the most forgiving person she knew. She had forgiven Jade countless times already, for some of the most cruel things she had done in the past, when she had every reason not to.

The only problem was that Jade didn't know how to apologize. She wanted to explain all of the feelings Tori's admission had given her, but she wanted to do it the right way. Tori feelings were more important to Jade than they had ever been. She had never felt more terrified of hurting someone and it was because she had seen how much it had affected Tori in the first place. Jade never wanted to make Tori feel unloved or uncared for.

In the short time it took for Tori and Jade to get closer, Jade had felt a change happen within her. She would never completely change, obviously Tori fell for her for a reason, but she definitely had a soft spot for Tori now.

Jade shook herself from her thoughts and realized she had made it to the school parking lot. It was deserted save for a few cars. She quickly found her car and got in. Jade was on a mission and she had to get to Tori's house to succeed.

/ / /

Tori's house came into view and Jade instantly slowed down her car. She didn't want to alert Tori to the fact that she was coming over. She wanted it to be somewhat of a surprise visit. Why? She didn't know.

Jade pulled her car up to the curb and cut the engine. She couldn't bring herself to get out of the car; her nerves were out of control. The speech she planned on giving to Tori kept circling in her mind as she sat in the quiet car. It took her a couple of minutes to finally build up the courage to open the car door.

Letting the words run through her mind she walked up to the door of the Vega household and knocked on the door. Her anxiety was on the rise as she waited for someone to open the door. There was some shuffling on the other side of the door that caused Jade to instantly tense up. When the door finally opened Jade prepared herself for whatever Tori would do when she saw her at the door. She wasn't prepared to see anyone else at the door, but it turned out that it wasn't Tori.

Trina Vega looked annoyed as she looked at Jade from the doorway of her home. Jade's anxiety instantly turned to annoyance at the sight of the other Vega sister.

"Can I help you?" Trina asked in a snarky tone.

"Not really," Jade replied. "What I need might be too much for you to handle."

"Don't you dare come on my doorstep and-"

"Can you please just get Tori for me?" Jade asked cutting Trina off mid sentence. She really didn't feel like being in the presence of the annoying Vega sister for long.

"You can get her yourself," Trina said before slamming the door in Jade's face.

Jade raised her fist in frustration, preparing to pound on the door when she heard someone behind her.

"Looking for me?"

Jade turned to see Tori walking up the driveway. She looked sad but beautiful as she plastered a small smile on her face. Jade couldn't comprehend why Tori would feel the need to force a smile for her benefit. She didn't want Tori to use a fake smile around her, she wanted Tori's smile to be full of happiness and love. Her heart felt heavy, knowing that she had caused the sadness that was in Tori's eyes.

"Yeah," Jade finally answered. "I wanted to talk to you."

Tori looked around cautiously, "Come sit on the patio with me."

They walked around to the back of the house in silence. Tori allowed Jade to sit before she chose a seat for herself; she chose to sit across from Jade rather than next to her. Jade couldn't help but feel a stab of pain at this action.

"So," Tori started, "What did you want to talk to me about?"

Jade looked at Tori confidently as she felt her heart rate quicken in her chest. She attempted to keep her breathing at a normal rate but couldn't help the deafening sound of her pulse. Surely Tori could hear it too, it was so loud. Jade opened her mouth to recite her speech but nothing came out. The entire speech she had rehearsed multiple times in her head had been completely wiped from her memory. She couldn't believe it.

Her eyes widened as she realized that she had no idea what to say to Tori in that moment. Her mouth opened and closed a few times as she attempted to find words, any words really, just something to take that pained look off of Tori's face.

It looked as if Tori was growing impatient waiting for Jade to speak. Jade's thoughts were causing chaos in her own mind as she thought about the fact that this could be it, her happiness could end here. Not only would Tori be devastated but she'd never understand how tormented Jade was about…everything.

"Tori I…." Tori looked somewhat hopeful when Jade finally spoke. "I…I'm terrified, okay. I told you this morning that I was terrified, but what you said…it just…it hit me so hard. I didn't really know how to react. There's was just so much going on in my head. I felt so many things in that one moment and I had no idea how to respond to you.

"Terrified or not, I was ecstatic. Your words touched me and warmed me…so much so that the only way to express my feelings was to say that it was amazing…because it _felt_ amazing. Knowing that you feel about me even half the way I feel about you was so…surreal to me in that moment, that I didn't realize it might not be what you expected to hear. I'm sorry for causing any worry…or pain…or…whatever. I really want this relationship to work and it won't if I keep saying the wrong thing."

Tori took a breath and physically relaxed. "Jade," she said, "it threw me off a little to hear you respond to me with so little after I poured my heart out, but what hurt me more was that you avoided me the rest of the day."

"I didn't-"

"Yes you did. It was so obvious."

"I was just embarrassed. I didn't know what to say to you."

"And that's understandable, but look at it from my point of view. I told you I was in love with you and you said it was 'amazing,' then you hid from me for the rest of the day."

"I didn't _hide_, I _avoided_ you. There's a difference. I'm not some scared little child."

Tori laughed, "It doesn't matter." Her brow furrowed a little bit, "It still hurt."

"I know and I'm sorry but I just…." Jade stopped mid-sentence suddenly recalling Tori's recollection of that morning. "Wait a minute, this morning you told me you were _falling_ in love with me." Jade's heart was beating a thousand miles a minute.

"Yes…"

"And just now you said…that you _were_ in love with me."

Tori blushed and Jade's lips began to twitch, forming a small smile.

"Well I guess I misspoke then," Tori responded causing Jade's smile to fall as a stabbing pain went through her heart. Tori went on, "I didn't mean to use the past tense."

Jade looked up at her instantly as a surge of hope beamed through her body. "S-So what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I _am_ in love with you. Doesn't take a scientist to figure that one out."

A warm sensation bled into Jade's heart and she could have sworn the sun shone a little bit brighter in that moment. Tori was in love with her! She wanted to shout it out for everyone to hear. What she felt was beyond any feeling she could describe. Tori loved her and all Jade wanted to do was grab her and show her how much it meant to her.

Jade shot up out of her chair and made her way to Tori in less than a second. Tori stood up instantly. Jade wrapped her arms around Tori and pulled her in for a fiery kiss. They held their lips in place for a few seconds before Jade began to nip at Tori's lower lip. Tori opened her mouth and Jade took the chance to let her tongue delve inside. Jade's heart was beating so fast and she could feel Tori's as well. She squeezed Tori even closer to her wanting to be as close as possible to the woman she loved.

Jade stilled but Tori ground her hips against Jade's causing her to moan in response. Their hands began to roam everywhere, anywhere they could reach. Tori whimpered. Jade growled in response.

She loved her. Jade felt it in every part of her body. She felt it within herself. She loved her. There was no denying it, Jade West was in love with Tori Vega, and the best part was that Tori loved her back. Jade had to break the kiss. She had to let Tori know, but it felt to damn good.

The decision was taken out of her hands however, when Tori pulled away from Jade. Jade opened her eyes and looked at Tori in confusion. Tori blushed as she pointed toward the door.

"Looks like we have an audience."

Jade turned around to see Mrs. Vega standing on the other side of the sliding glass door in the back of the house. She looked a little bit uneasy but at the same time a smile crossed her face. Jade knew that she was happy for her daughter, but she didn't need to see the full on make out session happening in her backyard. Jade laughed and turned back to Tori.

"Maybe I should go."

"Yeah, probably. I have a feeling a long conversation is going to be had in that kitchen in a few minutes."

Jade laughed, "Sounds fun. I'll see myself to the car."

"And I'll go deal with my mom." Tori gave Jade one more peck on the lips before turning to go inside.

"Hey Tori." Tori turned back toward Jade. "I just wanted to say…I love you too. I mean…you know, I'm _in_ love with you. Maybe even beyond that."

Tori's eyes instantly began to shine with tears. Jade stepped forward, "I hope those are happy tears." Jade wrapped her arms around Tori once again.

"What else would they be?"

Mrs. Vega's chat would have to wait. Tori and Jade's lips melded together in what was sure to be another long-lasting kiss.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: As you can tell it took me forever to write this chapter. I knew what I wanted to happen but I just didn't know how I wanted it to come about. There have also been a few things going on in my personal life that kind of made me put this story on the back burner…but I won't get into that.**

**Anyway, I hope you all like the way this chapter turned out. It took a lot of time and a lot of deleting and rewriting to finally get it to be perfect. It had to be perfect because the end of this fic is very near. So near, in fact, that it is in the next chapter.**

**Yes. After this long journey we've had together this fic will soon be coming to an end. Don't fret though; there's one more chapter but I also plan on posting and epilogue after that. I hope you have enjoyed this story enough that you will give me a chance in the future.**

**Thanks for all of the alerts, favorites, and reviews. All of the support on this fic has been phenomenal. Thank you so much!**

**Until next time..**


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious.**

Jade woke up ready for the day ahead of her. There was a new feeling in her chest and it could only be attributed to one person. Tori. Jade could not wait to see her; she had no idea what the day held for the two of them but she wanted nothing more than to be with her at this very moment. It was the first time in a long time that she was actually excited to got to school.

Her normal morning rituals of showering, getting dressed, and going through a drawer filled with various beauty products were all done in record time. Jade stopped to grab a grapefruit for breakfast when her phone suddenly pinged. It was an update from TheSlap. She quickly opened up the app for TheSlap on her phone. The update was Tori's latest status update which said:

**Tori Vega is in a relationship with Jade West.**

Under that was a message asking Jade to confirm the relationship. This was it. This was the moment where she and Tori would be official. It would be public. It would be exclusive. Her finger hovered over the '**YES**' button and pressed down on it making the status official.

Jade waited anxiously for the comments to pour in and she didn't have to wait long. It started with one 'Like' then a comment from Andre saying, "It's about time! ;)" After that the likes and comments of congrats and surprise were piling up very quickly.

Making her way to the car, Jade silenced her phone so that the updates wouldn't interrupt her driving. She turned on the radio and actually sang along to the Top 40 pop song that started to play through her speakers. Of course she quickly switched stations before another bubblegum pop song could make it's way into her brain. Happiness did not mean she had to settle for crappy music.

After finally making it into the Hollywood Arts parking lot she looked down at her phone. Their had been several more updates since she last looked at it, but one in particular stuck out to her the most.

**Beck Oliver commented on your status.**

Jade quickly opened up her page to read what he had written.

**I'm happy for you.**

The words couldn't be anymore simple than that but Jade's heart felt even lighter knowing that Beck was okay with this. It was sudden and their was a lot of animosity after their failed relationship because of how quickly it had seemed that she had moved on, but he understood her. He knew that Jade West does not let people in so easily. He had to know that Tori meant so much to her and if he had ever cared about Jade, Beck had to know that she needed his acceptance and understanding because he was such a big part of her life.

Jade felt relief flow through her. She stepped out of her car ready for whatever she had to face today because she knew that no matter what she'd be facing it with Tori.

The hallways of Hollywood Arts were bustling with students and teachers as it usually was but it felt different somehow. Jade looked over at Tori's locker but she wasn't there. Instead Jade walked over to her own locker to get ready for the day. In the middle of putting things away she was interrupted by a male voice.

"Someone looks like she's glowing today."

Jade turned to see Beck leaning against the locker beside hers. A small smile was stamped on his face and she could feel her own presented toward him.

"What can I say? I'm just…really happy."

"I know. This whole time I could see it. You and Tori…She's good for you."

"Yeah," Jade responded dreamily. "She really is."

"You're good for her too. You two really complement each other."

"You really-"

"Hey West!" Jade turned at the sound of Tori's voice cutting across the hall. Instantly the bustling noise became a stifling silence. "Get away from him!"

Jade felt confused at Tori's sudden outburst. She watched as Tori made her way to them but noticed Beck inch away from her. Jade West was never noticed, but Tori had caught her off guard so she didn't know how to react.

"Tori I-"

Before Jade could finish her thought Tori swooped in to give Jade a lingering kiss. Not overly passionate as to disgust people with raunchy PDA, but just long enough for Jade to know that Tori was hers and hers to keep. It was sweet but a little too short for Jade's liking as Tori pulled away in time for them to here the people around them begin to speak in raised voices while some guys wolf whistled in their direction. A quick death stare from Jade silenced the whistlers but the deed was done and the whole of the Hollywood Arts student body was talking about the "lesbian action" in the hallway.

When Jade looked at Tori she was wearing an sexy smirk. Her mind raced as she realized what Tori had done.

"You caused a scene on purpose didn't you."

Tori nodded, "I know we made it official on TheSlap, but I wanted people to know that you are mine. I also wanted to know that when they are whispering about us in the halls, I will know exactly what they're saying."

Jade couldn't help the grin that stretched onto her face. "You might have just scared Beck away."

Tori looked a little guilty. "Yeah, I'll talk to him later and apologize. I guess I got kind of carried away, but seeing him with you seemed like the perfect opportunity."

"Maybe I'm rubbing off on you just a little bit."

"Well you have to admit I've rubbed off on you a little bit too."

Jade smirked, "You're always rubbing against me in passion so…I don't see why not?"

Tori's cheeks instantly heated at Jade's words, and she bowed her head slightly to try and hide the blush.

"Don't try and hide from it Tori. It's a beautiful thing and I can guarantee you I enjoy it."

Tori looked up and locked eyes with Jade. Heat reflected from her eyes and speared through Jade's body. She felt her breathing get slightly erratic as she looked around for a wall clock. She checked the time to make sure they had plenty.

"Why don't you go and put your things away," Jade suggested, "then come meet me in the Janitor's closet. I have some things I'd like to discuss with you."

Tori quirked an eyebrow at her and Jade turned to make her way to the Janitor's closet. She could here Tori sprint across the hall to her locker as she made her way into the closet. She looked back once to see Tori talking to Andre and probably trying to get rid of him, before the door finally closed with a resounding click.

It wouldn't be long now. They had nothing to hide anymore but everyone needed privacy. The way they got together would be a puzzle for anyone, but it had happened and Jade was happy it did because while Tori and her were almost complete opposites, they worked together. If anyone wanted to figure out how, it would be a curious case indeed.

The End.

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><p><strong>AN: Don't worry everyone, I still plan on posting an epilogue to this story. In a sense this is the final chapter to the story; the epilogue is optional. You don't have to read it. It's not like you will miss key information if you don't read it. It's just a way to continue Jade and Tori's story while skipping a lot more time.**

**I really hope you all liked this chapter. I did my best not to make it too cheesy but I feel like it might have still came off that way. This chapter is really fluffy, so it's hard to do fluff without the cheese. **

**Thank you all for the support throughout this story. The alerts, faves, and reviews are what kept me going. It's what inspired me to make this story longer than I had originally planned. This story has been awesome to write and I am thankful to everyone who has stuck with it from the beginning. I wish I could personally thank all of you but I don't want to come off as a stalker or anything. Just know I really do appreciate you all and I hope this fic lived up to your standards.**

**I promise this won't be my last Jori fic. I will be back but I will be taking a much needed break. I have another fic I've been working on for another fandom and I think I should finish that before I get into anymore chapter long fics. Look out for more Jori fanfiction coming from me in the future. **

**Until next time…**


	25. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious, but maybe if I did I could bribe Nickelodeon to keep it on the air. :(**

**Epilogue**

Graduation day. It was finally here. Hollywood Arts made a huge spectacle out of graduation every year, showing off the talents of the students graduating and moving on into the "real world." Jade was currently "helping" Robbie set the stage for the mini play that some of the seniors were involved with; the term "helping" could be used loosely however. She was overseeing the work that Robbie was doing on the stage.

There would be a mini play to show off the acting skills of some students, a mini concert to show off the musical talents of some students, and a mini film that some of the students had created. Some student artwork was going to be displayed during the regular ceremony as well as in the lobby at the entrance of the auditorium.

Jade checked her phone and looked up at Robbie, "You're going to have to move a little faster than that. We only have an hour before this thing starts."

"Don't you think time would go a little faster if y-"

"Less talking, more working!"

With a heavy sigh, Robbie went back to setting everything up. Jade smiled and walked off the stage and into the lobby. She made her way behind a slender brunette who was currently setting up a small sculpture on a table full of artwork. Jade positioned her hands on each side of the girl ready to scare her.

"Boo!"

Tori jumped up and whirled around to face Jade with the statue still in her hands. "Jade! I could have dropped this…this…thing."

"What do you care? You don't even know what it is."

Tori smiled, "Well I have an obligation to protect this item, so seeing as my ass is on the line I do care."

"Ooh, Tori Vega's getting a little bit feisty there." Jade wrapped her arms around Tori's waist and pulled her in closer to her body. "I like it."

"Well be prepared for more because a stressed out Tori Vega is going to be a feisty Tori vega."

"Why are you so stressed? We made it here. We're graduating. What's there to worry about?"

"I just want everything to go really well."

"Trust me everything is going to be fine. They have like a hundred people working on making this night special so it won't be a disappointment. Besides, I'll be here with you the whole time."

Jade pulled Tori in the rest of the way and let their lips meld together for a few seconds.

"As much as I'm loving this," Andre said interrupting the two girls, "you two are going to have to separate so we can finish getting this stuff done. Lane wants us all in the auditorium 15 minutes."

Jade and Tori untangled from their embrace. Jade spoke first.

"Thank you Master of interruptions."

Tori sent her a look before speaking, "Don't worry Andre we'll be there."

"I know, I'm not worried," he replied. "I'm just relaying Lane's message."

"Of course," Jade stated sarcastically. "I have to go make sure Robbie's not killing himself anyway. I'll see you two later."

With that she walked back into the auditorium to finish "helping" Robbie.

/ / /

"Robbie Shapiro!"

Jade watched Robbie walk across the stage and grab his diploma. He lifted his hands in the air toward the crowd, both being free of a certain puppet who was probably sitting somewhere in the audience.

Looking out into the crowd Jade searched for her own family. The Vega's were instantly visible since Mr. Vega had opted for an aisle seat to get the best view with his huge, new camera. They were all smiles as they filmed Robbie walking back to his seat in the crowd. Andre's grandmother sat right behind them and hid behind the chair every time the crowd cheered for another graduate. A few rows over from her Jade could see the Valentine family sitting next to the Shapiro family. Cat's brother seemed to be strapped to his seat for some strange reason, but who was Jade to question. The Oliver family were the next family she noticed in their cool and calm demeanor, before finally finding her own.

While they sat near each other her mother and father were separated by the entire Vancleef family.

They were on good terms but still preferred to be as separate from each other as possible. Obviously this short distance was showing an effort on their part, of support for their daughter.

"Tori Vega!"

Jade let out a loud shout at the sound of Tori's name being called even though she was only separated from her by one other person. The person in question turned to glare at her for screaming in his ear, but realized who it was quickly and turned back around. Jade waited patiently for her name to be called.

"Jade West!"

She immediately strutted across the stage to get her diploma while trying to sustain the smile that threatened to erupt on her face. She kept it at simple smirk of pride. When she made her way down the aisle Tori's parents immediately gave her a thumbs up sign and the camera's flash blinded her as she walked by. They were obviously the proudest parents in the place, so much so that they cheered for everyone of Tori's friends as well.

Jade knew that the Vega family was always accepting of Tori's friends, as well as her girlfriend, but the support they showed for everyone today just made Jade's heart swell with emotion. She had hoped she wouldn't cry today but she could feel the tears ready to burn her eyes.

When Jade finally made it to her seat she turned to the person separating her and Tori. When he finally felt her stare and turned to face him she kept her expression blank and said, "Move."

He moved behind her as she switched into his spot and turned toward Tori. Tori gave her an incredulous look. "You could be a little nicer. It's not like he purposely made his name come before yours in the alphabet."

"Now why would I be nice? That would completely go against my reputation."

Tori rolled her eyes in response before pulling Jade into her arms. "Congratulations!"

Jade pulled back to look at her and smiled, "Thanks. Congrats to you too!" She pulled Tori back in but this time brought their lips together for a celebratory kiss.

They finally broke apart when the principal announced, "I now present to you Hollywood Arts' Class of 2013!"

All of the caps flew through the air as balloons began to fall from above them. Jade looked at Tori just as Tori looked at Jade. With their hands clasped they let the balloons fall around them. This moment would be forever burned in both their memories as one of the happiest in their life times.

**The End. (Again)**

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><p><strong>AN: I am so sad that this story is over because it was really fun to write. I had no idea where this story would end up in the beginning so I was just as intrigued as you may have been to find out how it would all turn out. This story made me an emotional wreck at times while I was writing it but it all turned out great in the end. **

**I can't than you enough for all of the support you have given this story. You stuck with me even when I was late to update or I gave you a really short chapter. I apologize for any distress I put anyone through but this was my FIRST chapter-long fanfiction. I am relieved that I made it to the end. It's funny because I had originally planned for this to be a ten chapter fic since it was my first, but as you can see it turned out to go on just a little bit longer. I can't help but laugh at my original plan now because it seems impossible for that to have ever happened.**

**Thanks again for all of the alerts, favorites, and reviews. I appreciated all of them. I will be taking a break to finish my chapter-long fic in another fandom, but that doesn't mean I won't still be writing for this fandom. I promise I'll be back, I've already got some ideas lined up for more Jori goodness. If you want more you can follow me here or on tumblr for story updates. The link to my tumblr account is in my profile if you need it.**

**Thanks again everyone!**

**Peace, love, and all of the above.**

**~Renthead01**


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